Curcumin Nanodelivery for Tumor-Associated Macrophage Reprogramming and Immune-Checkpoint Sensitization: Engineering the Tumor Immune Microenvironment

Background/Objectives: Curcumin possesses antineoplastic and immunomodulatory activities. However, poor aqueous solubility, chemical instability, rapid conjugative metabolism, and limited systemic exposure restrict meaningful concentrations within tumors. Numerous reviews have already addressed curcumin nanoformulations, improved bioavailability, and general anticancer effects. However, delivery architecture, cell-specific curcumin exposure, TAM functional reprogramming, macrophage-lymphocyte crosstalk, and checkpoint response remain insufficiently integrated. This review connects these components while distinguishing experimentally demonstrated links from mechanistic inference and examines whether engineered curcumin nanodelivery can remodel TAM-associated biology to improve responsiveness to PD-1/PD-L1-directed therapy.