Senescence and Cell Plasticity in Cancer Development
A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Cancer Biology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 891
Special Issue Editors
Interests: tumor suppressors; oncogenes; cancer stem cells; senescence; therapy resistance
Interests: molecular diagnostic oncology; cancer targeted therapy; precision oncology; tumor molecular alterations; genetic testing in oncology
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Cellular senescence and plasticity represent two pivotal yet contrasting biological processes that significantly influence cancer development. Cellular senescence is a stress response in which cells exit the cycle, lose the ability to proliferate, and undergo several morphological and metabolic changes, such as the secretion of numerous cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors that enable damaged cells to communicate with surrounding cells: the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). Therefore, senescence is a tumor-suppressive mechanism that promotes tissue repair or regeneration, preventing the proliferation of damaged cells. However, a prominent feature of the SASP is the ability to cause inflammation and angiogenesis and, therefore, also promote cancer initiation.
In parallel, cancer cells exhibit plasticity, the ability to dynamically shift between different phenotypic states within a tumor. This cellular plasticity promotes the differentiation and generation of new cancer stem cells from mature tumor cells. This tumor evolution can lead to tumor heterogeneity and increased resistance to conventional therapies, which may be responsible for metastasis, recurrences, and residual disease.
Emerging evidence suggests that senescence may drive cellular plasticity by creating permissive microenvironments or by incomplete reprogramming of senescent cells. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie the senescence–plasticity axis opens new avenues for improving therapeutic treatments and limit tumor evolution.
This Special Issue will highlight the role of senescence and cell plasticity in cancer development. Original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Mechanisms of cellular senescence in tumor suppression and cancer initiation.
- Senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) and its role in cancer microenvironments.
- The impact of senescence in cell plasticity.
- Regulation of cell plasticity and/or senescence during cancer progression.
- Interplay between senescence and epithelial–mesenchymal transition to drive metastasis or therapy resistance.
- Single-cell analysis of senescent and plastic cancer cell populations.
- Senescence and cell plasticity in cancer stem cell maintenance.
- The connection between senescence and the immune response.
- Therapeutic targeting of senescence and cell plasticity.
Dr. Eva María Verdugo-Sivianes
Guest Editor
Dr. Elena Aguado-Domínguez
Guest Editor Assistant
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
- cellular senescence
- cell plasticity
- stem cells
- SASP
- therapy resistance
- tumor microenvironment
- cancer development
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