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Cancers
Special Issues
Infectious Agents and Cancer in Children and Adolescents
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Infectious Agents and Cancer in Children and Adolescents

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Infectious Agents and Cancer".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 May 2025) | Viewed by 1865

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Emmanouel Hatzipantelis

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Guest Editor
Unit of Pediatric and Adolescent Hematology and Oncology, 2nd Department of Pediatrics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, AHEPA University Hospital, 54638 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: childhood cancer; survivorship; adolescents and young adults with cancer; acute lymphoblastic leukemia; Hodgkin lymphoma; thrombosis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Eleni Tsotridou

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Guest Editor
Unit of Pediatric and Adolescent Hematology and Oncology, 2nd Department of Pediatrics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, AHEPA University Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: miRNAs; epigenetics; acute lymphoblastic leukemia; immunooncology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The complex interplay between infectious agents, the immune system and tumor development, progression and clearance has been drawing increasing attention. Pathogens share common antigenic epitopes with neoplastic cells; as such, the hypothesis that prior infection aids the clearance of neoplastic cells by creating immunological memory has been developed. On the other hand, there is accumulating evidence for the possible involvement of infectious agents in the pathogenesis of a variety of malignancies. The established oncogenic viruses represent only the tip of the iceberg. Prior infection affects the immunological status, i.e., Th1 versus Th2 polarization, and hence the success of immunosurveillance. Chronic low-grade inflammation associated with infections has also been linked with an increased risk of tumorigenesis. Recently, infectious agents in the form of oncolytic viruses have revolutionized the field of oncology by either selectively infecting and lysing neoplastic cells or modifying the tumor microenvironment. Finally, infections represent a major cause of morbidity and mortality among cancer patients, especially nowadays that the intensity of chemotherapy has been pushed to the limit of tolerance in several neoplasms.

This Special Issue aims to showcase original research articles, along with state-of-the-art reviews on the broad spectrum of the role of infectious agents in cancer pathogenesis and treatment, as well as in the form of malignancy-related or treatment-related complications.

Dr. Emmanouel Hatzipantelis
Dr. Eleni Tsotridou
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

  • infectious agents
  • immune system
  • tumor development
  • immunological memory
  • oncolytic viruses

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 259 KiB  
Article
Early Infection Incidence and Risk of Acute Leukemia Development Among Mexican Children
by Omar Sepúlveda-Robles, Janet Flores-Lujano, Juan Carlos Núñez-Enríquez, Elva Jiménez-Hernández, David Aldebarán Duarte-Rodríguez, Jorge Alfonso Martín-Trejo, Laura Eugenia Espinoza-Hernández, Xochiketzalli García-Jiménez, Rogelio Paredes-Aguilera, Juan José Dosta-Herrera, Javier Anastacio Mondragón-García, Heriberto Valdés-Guzmán, Laura Mejía-Pérez, Gilberto Espinoza-Anrubio, María Minerva Paz-Bribiesca, Perla Salcedo-Lozada, Rodolfo Ángel Landa-García, Rosario Ramírez-Colorado, Luis Hernández-Mora, Marlene Santamaría-Ascencio, Anselmo López-Loyola, Arturo Hermilo Godoy-Esquivel, Luis Ramiro García-López, Alison Ireri Anguiano-Ávalos, Karina Mora-Rico, Alejandro Castañeda-Echevarría, Roberto Rodríguez-Jiménez, José Alberto Cibrian-Cruz, Rocío Cárdenas-Cardos, Martha Beatriz Altamirano-García, Martin Sánchez-Ruiz, Roberto Rivera-Luna, Luis Rodolfo Rodríguez-Villalobos, Francisco Hernández-Pérez, Jaime Ángel Olvera-Durán, Luis Rey García-Cortés, José Refugio Torres-Nava, Marlon De Ita, Aurora Medina-Sanson, Minerva Mata-Rocha, José Gabriel Peñaloza-Gonzalez, Rosa Martha Espinosa-Elizondo, Luz Victoria Flores-Villegas, Raquel Amador-Sanchez, Darío Orozco-Ruiz, Maria Luisa Pérez-Saldívar, Martha Margarita Velázquez-Aviña, Laura Elizabeth Merino-Pasaye, Karina Anastacia Solís-Labastida, Ana Itamar González-Ávila, Jessica Denisse Santillán-Juárez, Vilma Carolina Bekker-Méndez, Silvia Jiménez-Morales, Angélica Rangel-López, José Arellano-Galindo, Jorge Meléndez-Zajgla, Haydeé Rosas-Vargas and Juan Manuel Mejía-Aranguréadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Cancers 2025, 17(5), 733; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers17050733 - 21 Feb 2025
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Abstract
Background: The few epidemiologic studies of infection exposure in early life and acute leukemia (AL) risk in Latino children have yielded inconsistent results, suggesting a possible effect of ethnicity. Here, we examined the correlation between infection exposure and acute leukemia risk in children [...] Read more.
Background: The few epidemiologic studies of infection exposure in early life and acute leukemia (AL) risk in Latino children have yielded inconsistent results, suggesting a possible effect of ethnicity. Here, we examined the correlation between infection exposure and acute leukemia risk in children from Mexico City—One of the biggest Latino cities worldwide. Methods: This study included 1455 Mexican children diagnosed with de novo AL (2002–2016), and 1455 control individuals frequency-matched by age and health institution. The AL population included acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), Pre-B ALL, and acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML). Logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate direct and indirect proxies of infection in children or their mothers. Results: Upper respiratory tract infections during the child’s first year of life were a risk factor for AL (OR, 2.76; 95% CI, 1.48–5.15), including ALL (OR, 3.14; 95% CI, 1.67–5.89) and Pre-B (OR, 3.11; 95% CI, 1.63–5.96). Mother’s infections before and during pregnancy were protective factors against AL (OR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.47–0.64; and OR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.52–0.72, respectively). These associations included ALL and Pre-B. In contrast, only mothers’ infections before pregnancy and respiratory tract infections were protective factors against AML (OR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.33–0.62; and OR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.37–0.68, respectively). Conclusions: Infections during the first year of life were associated with AL development in children of Mexico City. Additionally, mothers’ exposure to respiratory tract infections before and during pregnancy reduced the AL risk in this Latino population. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Infectious Agents and Cancer in Children and Adolescents)

Review

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17 pages, 679 KiB  
Review
Epstein–Barr Infection, Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and the Immune System: Insights into the Molecular Mechanisms Facilitating Immune Evasion
by Eleni Tsotridou and Emmanouel Hatzipantelis
Cancers 2025, 17(9), 1481; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers17091481 - 28 Apr 2025
Viewed by 555
Abstract
Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) constitutes a very common pathogen and a well-characterized carcinogen. EBV has the ability to establish a chronic latent infection, during which only a subset of the viral genes is expressed. EBV is implicated in multiple malignancies, including Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL). [...] Read more.
Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) constitutes a very common pathogen and a well-characterized carcinogen. EBV has the ability to establish a chronic latent infection, during which only a subset of the viral genes is expressed. EBV is implicated in multiple malignancies, including Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL). HL mainly affects adolescents and young adults and has an overall favorable prognosis. However, relapsed or refractory disease still poses a therapeutic challenge. EBV does not only induce malignant transformation but also hinders the detection and clearance of the neoplastic cells by the immune system. The proteins and non-coding RNAs expressed in latency IIa, which is associated with HL, employ a variety of mechanisms to target different steps of innate and adaptive immunity, to take advantage of the immunosuppressant effect of immune checkpoints, and to shape the microenvironment to support the survival and proliferation of malignant cells. They suppress the expression or promote the degradation of pattern-recognition receptors, interfere with type I interferon and proinflammatory cytokine mediated signaling, and hinder the effector function of natural killer cells. The processing and presentation of peptides to CD4 and CD8 T cells are also hampered. EBV induces the expression of immune checkpoints, the secretion of immunosuppressive cytokines, and the efflux of regulatory T cells in the tumor microenvironment. The current review provides a comprehensive overview of the molecular mechanisms underlying this complex interplay between EBV and the immune system in HL with focus on clinical data from the pediatric population, which is the key for developing novel, effective therapeutic interventions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Infectious Agents and Cancer in Children and Adolescents)
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