Advances in Cellular Heterogeneity and Plasticity in the Tumor Microenvironment
A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Tumor Microenvironment".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 April 2026 | Viewed by 27
Special Issue Editors
2. Department of Biomedical Sciences, “Our Lady of Good Counsel” University, Rruga Dritan Hoxha, 1000 Tirana, Albania
Interests: molecular mechanisms associated with tumor growth and progression linked to angiogenesis; molecular mechanisms associated with polarized immune cells in the tumor microenvironment; effects of angiogenic factors on vascular biology and immune response
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: identification of reliable innovative therapeutic targets for neoplastic diseases; study of chemical/physical properties of ectopic calcifications in cancer; impact of environmental pollution, mainly toxic metals, on the pathogenesis of cancer
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The tumor microenvironment (TME) is an intricate and heterogeneous environment consisting of tumor cells and various cell types, including endothelial cells, immune cells, fibroblasts, and extracellular matrix components, in which each element can influence the others. Although the TME varies in terms of distinct types of solid tumors, hypoxia, nutrient availability, and the release of growth factors and cytokines are the main factors responsible for this heterogeneity. Growth factors and cytokines, by influencing stromal cells’ behavior and attracting immune cells, can induce tumor cells to adopt different phenotypes and increase their structural and functional plasticity through epigenetic changes. Cellular plasticity is now considered to be a hallmark of cancer. It is an intrinsic property of cancer cells characterized by genomic instability, altered signaling, and metabolic reprogramming that allows cancer cells to adapt to the heterogeneity of the microenvironment. Cellular plasticity can also promote the survival of tumor cells under conditions of nutrient restriction and hypoxia. In addition, it is not only involved in epithelial–mesenchymal transition and thus tumor progression but also promotes the evasion of the immune response by rendering tumor cells invisible to the immune system. The result is the development of stem-cell-like cells characterized by low immunogenicity, a high propensity to metastasize, and a high resistance to therapy. Therefore, there is an urgent need to understand the complex interplay between the heterogeneous TME, tumor cell plasticity, tumor immune evasion, and resistance to therapy. This Special Issue aims to collate recent insights into the molecular and cellular mechanisms caused by epigenetic modifications and/or mutational events responsible for tumor cell plasticity, with the aim of identifying new possible therapeutic targets.
Scope and information for Authors:
For this Special Issue, we welcome the submission of reviews, mini-reviews, and original research articles that offer new insights into the following subtopics:
- Crosstalk between cancer cells and non-tumoral stromal and immune cells in the TME;
- Molecular mechanisms driving tumor cell plasticity;
- Reciprocal interplay between tumor cell plasticity and infiltrate immune cell types in the TME;
- Prediction and optimization cellular responses to therapeutic strategies that target tumor cell plasticity in the TME.
Dr. Loredana Albonici
Dr. Manuel Scimeca
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
- tumor microenvironment (TME)
- tumor microenvironmental heterogeneity and drug resistance
- cancer cell plasticity and immune evasion
- epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT)
- tumor immune context
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