Anticancer Drugs in Immunotherapy: Molecular Mechanisms, Translational Insights, and Clinical Applications

Dear Colleagues,

The advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors, adoptive cell therapies, and immune adjuvants has revolutionized cancer therapy. However, the efficacy of immunotherapy is limited by resistance, immune evasion, and tumor microenvironmental barriers. Anticancer drugs, including chemotherapeutics, targeted agents, and novel small molecules, are now being integrated into immunotherapy regimens to enhance antitumor immunity and overcome resistance.

This Special Issue aims to explore the synergistic mechanisms by which anticancer drugs modulate the immune landscape, influence immunogenic cell death, or augment checkpoint blockade. We welcome studies that dissect molecular pathways, investigate drug–immune cell interactions, propose biomarkers for response, and highlight the clinical translation of drug–immunotherapy combinations.

Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Mechanisms of immunogenic cell death induced by chemotherapy or radiation;
• Small molecules and targeted drugs enhancing T-cell priming or APC function;
• Drug-induced modulation of tumor immune microenvironment;
• Epigenetic drugs and immune reprogramming;
• Overcoming resistance to checkpoint blockade with drug combinations;
• Immunotherapy sensitization in “cold” tumors via conventional agents;
• Clinical trials involving anticancer drugs combined with immunotherapy;
• Nanoparticle and drug-delivery systems for immune activation;
• Bioinformatics and systems biology approaches to predict synergy.

Dr. Bashir Lawal
Guest Editor

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