The triad in current neuroblastoma challenges: Targeting antigens, enhancing effective cytotoxicity and accurate 3D in vitro modelling

Abstract

Neuroblastoma is an embryonic tumour originating from neural crest cells and accounts for nearly 15 % of all childhood cancer deaths. Despite the implementation of intense multimodal therapy for neuroblastoma, half of the high-risk cohort will relapse with metastatic foci resistant to conventional therapies. There is an urgent need for novel precision medicine approaches to improve patient survival and ensure healthy post-treatment lives for these children.

Immunotherapy holds promise for such therapeutics; however, developing effective options has been disappointing despite decades of research. The immunosuppressive tumour-immune microenvironment presents a significant challenge amplified with low mutational burden in neuroblastoma, even with the new discovered tumour antigens. Innovative, practical, and comprehensive approaches are crucial for designing and testing immunotherapies capable of passing clinical trials. Replacing animal models with physiologically relevant in vitro systems will expedite this process and provide new insights into exploitable tumour-immune cell interactions. This review examines this three-pronged approach in neuroblastoma immunotherapy: tumour antigen discovery, immunomodulation, and 3D in vitro tumour models, and discusses current and emerging insights into these strategies to address neuroblastoma immunotherapy challenges.