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Current Progress and Research Trends in Ocular Oncology—2nd Edition

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Causes, Screening and Diagnosis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 April 2026) | Viewed by 1294

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
Interests: ocular oncology; primary tumor and metastasis; genetic and cellular heterogeneity; oncogenic pathways; cancer biology and immunology; molecular biomarkers; drug screening; 3D cell culture models; novel treatment options
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
Interests: ocular oncology; primary tumor; uveal melanoma; conjunctival melanoma; metastatic risk; diagnostic strategies; innovative therapeutic options; electrochemotherapy; patient-derived xenograft models; vitreoretinal surgery
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
Interests: ocular oncology; uveal melanoma; conjunctival melanoma; retinoblastoma; primary tumor; metastatic risk; clinic–pathologic analysis; diagnostic strategies; prognostic factors; therapeutic options; vitreoretinal surgery
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to contribute to this Special Issue, which is the second edition of "Current Progress and Research Trends in Ocular Oncology" (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/cancers/special_issues/H4ZFP9OK92).

We invite you to contribute an original article or review in the field of ocular oncology, with a focus on uveal melanoma, conjunctival melanoma or retinoblastoma. Uveal melanoma and retinoblastoma, which cause blindness and even death, are the most common primary intraocular malignancies in adults and children, respectively. Conjunctival melanoma shares genetic and pathophysiological features with cutaneous melanomas and is distinct from uveal melanoma. Although our understanding of these ocular cancers has advanced over the last decade and local tumor control is mostly achievable, they remain malignancies with recurrence and no treatment for metastatic disease.

This Special Issue will highlight current progress and research trends in all aspects of ocular oncology, including oncogenic pathways and genetic and cellular heterogeneity, as well as cancer immunity that underlies the initiation, progression, recurrence and metastasis of ocular tumors. Basic science studies with translational aspects, as well as clinical trials, are strongly encouraged. Experts in the field are invited to contribute articles reviewing the latest perspectives on ocular cancer biology or diagnosis and therapy. This Special Issue reflects the wide range of efforts to advance the understanding and treatment of eye cancers.

Prof. Dr. Utta Berchner-Pfannschmidt
Dr. Miltiadis Fiorentzis
Prof. Dr. Nikolaos E. Bechrakis
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

  • ocular oncology
  • uveal melanoma
  • conjunctival melanoma
  • retinoblastoma
  • primary tumor
  • recurrence
  • metastasis
  • oncogenic pathways
  • genetic and cellular heterogeneity
  • cancer immunity
  • diagnostic strategies
  • therapeutic options

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

34 pages, 5784 KB  
Article
Linking Megalin, Cubilin, Caveolin-1, GIPC1 and Dab2IP Expression to Ocular Tumorigenesis: Profiles in Retinoblastoma, Choroidal Melanoma, and the Normal Human Eye
by Petra Kovačević, Petar Todorović, Nela Kelam, Suzana Konjevoda, Nenad Kunac, Josipa Marin Lovrić and Katarina Vukojević
Cancers 2025, 17(23), 3785; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers17233785 - 26 Nov 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 838
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Retinoblastoma (RB) and uveal melanoma (UM) remain vision-threatening and lethal ocular malignancies with limited molecular markers of differentiation state and prognosis. We investigated whether proteins governing endocytosis and signaling, including Megalin (LRP2), Cubilin (CUBN), Caveolin-1, GAIP-interacting protein C-terminus 1 (GIPC1), and [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Retinoblastoma (RB) and uveal melanoma (UM) remain vision-threatening and lethal ocular malignancies with limited molecular markers of differentiation state and prognosis. We investigated whether proteins governing endocytosis and signaling, including Megalin (LRP2), Cubilin (CUBN), Caveolin-1, GAIP-interacting protein C-terminus 1 (GIPC1), and Disabled homolog 2-interacting protein (DAB2IP), exhibit subtype-specific expression patterns in ocular tumors and whether these patterns are related to transcriptomic profiles and survival. Methods: Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded human ocular tissues included controls (n = 10), retinoblastoma (n = 10), and UM subtypes (epithelioid, spindle, mixoid; total n = 30). Immunofluorescence for LRP2, CUBN, CAV1, GIPC1, and DAB2IP was quantified using ImageJ (version 1.54g) across standardized high-power fields; per-specimen means were used for statistical analysis (Shapiro–Wilk test; one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test). Public data analyses comprised: (i) overall survival in TCGA-UVM using GEPIA2; (ii) differential expression in GEO datasets (GSE62075: melanocytes vs. UM cell lines; GSE208143: retinoblastoma vs. pediatric control retina) and (iii) multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis using the GEPIA3 online platform. Results: LRP2 expression was uniformly reduced across retinoblastoma and all UM subtypes versus control. CUBN expression decreased in retinoblastoma and epithelioid melanoma, was retained in spindle melanoma, and increased in mixoid-cell melanoma. CAV1 expression was increased in epithelioid melanoma but reduced in retinoblastoma, mixoid, and spindle melanomas. GIPC1 and DAB2IP expression were preserved in epithelioid melanoma yet significantly reduced in retinoblastoma and mixoid/spindle melanomas. In TCGA-UVM, higher CAV1 and GIPC1 mRNA expression was associated with worse overall survival (p ≈ 0.025 and 0.036), whereas LRP2, CUBN, and DAB2IP expression were not significant. GEO analyses revealed no significant differences for the five genes in UM cell lines versus melanocytes (GSE62075). However, in retinoblastoma (GSE208143), LRP2 was downregulated, while CUBN, CAV1, GIPC1, and DAB2IP were upregulated. Conclusions: Endocytic/signaling proteins exhibit distinct, subtype-linked expression in ocular tumors. Integration with public datasets highlights CAV1 and GIPC1 as adverse survival correlates in UM and positions LRP2/CUBN/DAB2IP dysregulation as features of ocular tumor biology, nominating candidate biomarkers and mechanistic targets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Progress and Research Trends in Ocular Oncology—2nd Edition)
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