Cancer and the Brain: Brain and Tumor Interplay, the Nervous System's Vulnerabilities and Therapeutic Opportunities
A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 119
Special Issue Editor
2. Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
3. Yale University School of Medicine, Yale Cancer Center | Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven, 15 York St., LCI 920E, P.O. Box 208028, New Haven, CT 06520-8028, USA
Interests: primary and secondary brain tumors; neurological complications from cancer and cancer therapy
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The field of neuro-oncology is at a pivotal point, with significant advances being made in our understanding of the interplay between the nervous system and the tumor microenvironment in cancers, including gliomas, and how this drives tumor growth and influences responsiveness to tumor therapies. In addition, the functionality of the central nervous system remains highly vulnerable to various systemic and radiotherapeutic approaches. However, influencing nervous system–cancer crosstalk to foster therapeutic effects and prevent neurotoxicity from cancer and cancer therapies remains a profound challenge—one that necessitates continued innovation in clinical research and therapeutic development.
This Special Issue aims to capture the current state of research on and understanding of the reciprocal influence of the nervous system and cancers and to highlight therapeutic and neuroprotective opportunities. It will serve as a platform for disseminating high-impact research that bridges the gap between state-of-the-art research and patient care. We welcome submissions of original research and/or review articles that address various aspects of brain and cancer interactions, therapeutic prospects and preventative/neuroprotective opportunities.
In this collection, an international and multidisciplinary team of experts will share insights into the cutting-edge topics pertaining to our emerging understanding of how communication between cancer cells and neural structures promotes and modulates tumor growth and how this can be modulated by neuro-active medications including anti-epileptic drugs. The nervous system is one of the most vulnerable organs when it comes to toxicity from cancers and cancer therapies, and the mechanisms of this susceptibility are finally being increasingly understood. This opens up great opportunities to therapeutically shape responsiveness to therapies, including through immunotherapies and more effective neuroprotective measures.
These papers will highlight the transformative work that is defining the next chapter of clinical care, which ultimately aims to enhance survival and quality of life for patients with tumors affecting the nervous system. We look forward to your contributions, which will help to shape a more effective and hopeful future for the field of neuro-oncology.
Dr. Sylvia C. Kurz
Guest Editor
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
- neuro-oncology
- primary CNS tumors
- secondary CNS tumors
- neural networks
- glioma cell and neuron crosstalk
- brain tumor-related epilepsy
- neurotoxicity from cellular immunotherapies
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