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Oncoproteins in Cancers: Transcriptional Regulation, Signaling and Targeted Therapy

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Cancer Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2026 | Viewed by 1249

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Miller School of Medicine, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
Interests: gastrointestinal tumors; tumor suppressors; oncoproteins; metaplasia; tumor microenvironment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
Interests: diethyldithiocarbamic acid; nepicastat; antineoplastic activity stem cell factor; proto-oncogene proteins C-kit; kits

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce this Special Issue of Cancers, “Oncoproteins in Cancers: Transcriptional Regulation, Signaling and Targeted Therapy”.

Cancer, which is caused by uncontrolled, aberrant cell proliferation remains an important health issue worldwide. Understanding the distinct processes contributing to tumor formation and growth may provide a better foundation for future anticancer research. The first regulators of this biological process are proto-oncogenes, which function as growth factors by sending out signals. Mutations, gene amplification and chromosomal translocation are the activation processes of proto-oncogenes. Cancer cells develop due to changes in these sets of genes, causing mutations known as oncogenes. The resulting oncoproteins dysregulate cell proliferation, cell differentiation and other biological processes, leading to cancer. Tumors have been shown to exhibit angiogenesis and produce angiogenic factors that are activated by oncoproteins, which may be important for facilitating tumorigenesis. Additionally, the growth of tumors is closely linked to the prevention of programmed cell death, or apoptosis, which confers cell longevity. Recent advances in cancer research have identified new oncogenic molecules. However, the molecular mechanisms in the development of tumors are not well understood.

This Special Issue welcomes original research articles and reviews on the transcriptional regulation, signaling and therapeutic significance of oncoproteins in different cancer types.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Ravindran Caspa Gokulan
Prof. Dr. Francis Ali-Osman
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

  • oncoproteins
  • targeted therapy
  • oncogenic signaling pathways
  • tumor microenvironment
  • oxidative stress and cancer
  • tumorigenesis
  • cancer chemoprevention

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

12 pages, 1252 KB  
Review
MDM4 at the Crossroads: Beyond p53 and MDM2
by Dipesh Thapa, Allison St. John, Alejandro Parrales, Atul Ranjan and Tomoo Iwakuma
Cancers 2026, 18(7), 1059; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers18071059 - 25 Mar 2026
Viewed by 787
Abstract
MDM4 (Murine Double Minute 4), also known as MDMX, is a crucial negative regulator of the tumor suppressor p53. MDM4 heterodimerizes with MDM2 to enhance MDM2-mediated ubiquitination and degradation of p53, thereby promoting tumorigenesis. Beyond its canonical role in inhibiting p53 activity, recent [...] Read more.
MDM4 (Murine Double Minute 4), also known as MDMX, is a crucial negative regulator of the tumor suppressor p53. MDM4 heterodimerizes with MDM2 to enhance MDM2-mediated ubiquitination and degradation of p53, thereby promoting tumorigenesis. Beyond its canonical role in inhibiting p53 activity, recent studies have revealed diverse p53-independent functions. MDM4 interacts with various proteins, including p73, E2F1, casein kinase 1α, PPARα, and TRIM21 to regulate cell cycle progression, β-catenin-mediated pre-leukemic progression, and ferroptosis independent of p53. In addition, MDM4 functions independently of both p53 and MDM2 by interacting with proteins, such as SMAD family members 3/4, retinoblastoma protein (pRB), p21, Nbs1 (also known as Nibrin), mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1), and the Polycomb Repressive Complexes (PRCs) complex, to control cell proliferation and survival, as well as protein degradation, double-strand break (DSB) repair, and replication fork progression. Intriguingly, multiple studies suggest that MDM4 exhibits oncogenic activity independent of p53; however, other reports highlight a potential tumor-suppressive role for MDM4 in the absence of p53. Thus, MDM4’s functions extend well beyond the canonical p53–MDM2 axis. A deeper understanding of MDM4 biology may facilitate the development of novel targeted therapies for various cancers. Full article
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