Immune Biomarkers and Checkpoint Inhibitors: Advancing Immunotherapy in Gynecologic Cancers
A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 448
Special Issue Editors
Interests: gynecologic malignancies; immunotherapy; biomarkers; tumor microenvironment
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Advanced and recurrent gynecologic cancers, including endometrial, cervical, and ovarian carcinomas, have shown poor prognoses and high cancer-related mortality rates over the past decades. In recent years, targeted therapy has emerged as an adjuvant or combination treatment alongside traditional approaches. Immunotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are among the emerging advancements that have been newly studied, and some of the associated agents were approved by the FDA in patients with recurrent or advanced-stage cervical and endometrial cancers. Consequently, treatment options for gynecologic malignancies are becoming more diverse, with a strong emphasis on multimodal strategies for effective tumor eradication.
Tumor cells evade immunity by creating an immunosuppressive microenvironment through inhibitory pathways notably involving cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4), programmed death-ligand 1 and its receptor (PD-1/PD-L1), and other ligands. Novel immunotherapy approaches aim to inhibit these immune checkpoints, counteracting negative regulation between tumor cells and T cells, thereby enhancing antitumor immune responses.
The exploration of immunology in gynecologic cancer is extensive and holds the potential for identifying novel diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic markers. In addition to the development of new ICIs to treat advanced recurrent gynecologic cancers, some cytokines or ligands of immune cells have the potential to serve as biomarkers for both disease diagnosis and prognosis. As a result, ongoing research is warranted for new immune biomarkers and therapeutic targets, ultimately enhancing survival outcomes for gynecologic cancer patients in the future.
This Special Issue will highlight the role of immunology in gynecologic cancers, focusing on biomarkers and their applications in gynecologic tumors from both preclinical and clinical perspectives. It will advance our understanding of targeting this complex pathway in gynecologic malignancies.
Dr. Ting-Tai Yen
Dr. Eugene Patrick Toy
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- immune checkpoints
- checkpoint inhibitors
- PD-1/PD-L1 pathway
- immune biomarkers
- tumor microenvironment
- immunosuppressive pathways
- T-cell activation in solid tumors
- gynecologic tumors
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
