cancers-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Lung Cancer: Diagnosis and Targeted Therapy

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 July 2026 | Viewed by 698

Special Issue Editors


grade E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Section of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Republic of Korea
Interests: lung cancer; head and neck cancer; translational research; targeted agents; immunotherapy; molecular biology

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Republic of Korea
Interests: lung cancer; pulmonary nodule; diagnosis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Lung cancer remains a leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide, yet the field is undergoing a remarkable transformation driven by advances in early detection, molecular characterization, and precision therapeutics. This Special Issue, “Lung Cancer: Diagnosis and Targeted Therapy,” brings together state-of-the-art reviews and emerging evidence highlighting how modern diagnostics and targeted treatment strategies are reshaping outcomes across disease stages and histologies.

This Issue provides an integrated overview of current concepts and future directions in lung cancer care. The diagnostic section covers major developments in screening, imaging, and pathologic and molecular profiling, including next-generation sequencing (NGS), minimal residual disease (MRD) assessment, and the expanding role of liquid biopsy in both early-stage and metastatic settings. Special attention is given to evolving biomarkers in EGFR, ALK, MET, KRAS, HER2, and other oncogenic drivers that guide therapeutic choices and resistance monitoring.

On the therapeutic side, this collection summarizes breakthroughs in targeted therapies, including next-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs), and rational combination strategies aimed at overcoming resistance. The Issue also discusses the interface between immunotherapy and targeted therapy, optimal sequencing, and emerging modalities such as bispecific antibodies, synthetic lethality approaches, and tumor-agnostic treatments.

Together, the articles in this Special Issue highlight the rapid progress in precision oncology for lung cancer and outline the remaining key challenges, namely early detection, resistance mechanisms, CNS disease control, and equitable access to molecular diagnostics globally. By synthesizing these advances, this Issue aims to provide clinicians and researchers with a clear, updated roadmap for improving patient outcomes through personalized medicine.

Prof. Dr. Myung-Ju Ahn
Prof. Dr. Kyung Jong Lee
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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

  • lung cancer
  • modern diagnostics
  • screening
  • imaging
  • pathologic and molecular profiling
  • biomarkers
  • targeted therapies
  • next-generation TKIs
  • antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs)
  • drug resistance

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.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

11 pages, 972 KB  
Article
Immune Aging Within the Tumor Microenvironment Predicts Survival in Lung Adenocarcinoma
by Taeyun Kim, Hyunji Choi, Tae Won Jang and Chul-Ho Oak
Cancers 2026, 18(9), 1343; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers18091343 - 23 Apr 2026
Viewed by 426
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Immune aging has been associated with survival outcomes in patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), but its relevance within the tumor microenvironment (TME) remains unclear. Methods: Clinical, RNA-sequencing, and somatic mutation data from the TCGA LUAD cohort were analyzed. Immune aging [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Immune aging has been associated with survival outcomes in patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), but its relevance within the tumor microenvironment (TME) remains unclear. Methods: Clinical, RNA-sequencing, and somatic mutation data from the TCGA LUAD cohort were analyzed. Immune aging score within the TME was quantified using a predefined blood-driven 121-gene immune aging signature (IAS-121), and patients were categorized into the lowest versus the highest IAS-121 tertiles. Immune cell composition in the TME was inferred using xCell. Overall survival (OS) was evaluated using Kaplan–Meier analysis, Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for age, sex, tumor stage, smoking status, and EGFR mutation status, and restricted cubic spline analysis to examine the dose–response relationship between IAS-121 and mortality risk. Sensitivity analyses comparing the highest versus lowest quartiles or higher than median versus lower than median of IAS-121 were performed. Two independent LUAD cohorts (GSE68465 and GSE50081) were employed for validation. Results: A total of 518 patients with LUAD from the TCGA cohort were analyzed. Restricted cubic spline analysis showed a linear association between IAS-121 and OS. Patients in the highest IAS-121 tertile showed significantly better survival than those in the lowest tertile in both the TCGA cohort (p < 0.001) and the external validation cohorts (p = 0.003). In multivariable-adjusted Cox models, the lowest IAS-121 tertile was associated with worse survival in TCGA (adjusted HR 1.87, 95% CI 1.20–2.92) and in the pooled external cohorts (adjusted HR 1.57, 95% CI 1.02–2.43). Subgroup analyses showed generally consistent associations across clinical strata. Tumors with higher IAS-121 exhibited lower CD8+ and CD4+ naïve T-cell enrichment but higher neutrophil infiltration. Conclusions: Immune aging within TME is associated with poorer survival in LUAD. Given this study is hypothesis-generating, further investigations integrating tissue- and blood-based measures of immune aging are warranted to clarify its clinical and biological implications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lung Cancer: Diagnosis and Targeted Therapy)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop