Targeted and Translational Therapies in Genitourinary Cancers: Addressing Unmet Clinical Needs Through Organ-Specific Innovation
A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Therapy".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 7
Special Issue Editors
Interests: genitourinary cancers; targeted therapy; cancer immunology; cancer prevention; cell signaling; renal cancer
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Genitourinary cancers, including renal, prostate, bladder, and testicular malignancies, are driven by complex molecular alterations that promote tumor growth, immune evasion, and resistance to treatment. While targeted therapies, such as inhibitors of Receptor Tyrosine Kinases (RTKs), PI3K/mTOR, DNA repair, and androgen receptor signaling, have transformed outcomes for select patient subsets, therapeutic resistance and disease recurrence remain pressing clinical challenges. These persistent obstacles underscore urgent unmet needs in contemporary genitourinary oncology practice, particularly in optimizing patient selection, overcoming resistance mechanisms, and developing novel therapeutic strategies tailored to distinct organ-specific contexts.
This Special Issue aims to highlight advances in the discovery and clinical development of targeted and combination therapies in genitourinary oncology, with a deliberate focus on organ-specific innovations that address these unmet needs. We welcome original research and reviews that not only cover molecular mechanisms of therapeutic response and resistance, biomarker-guided strategies, novel small molecules, antibody–drug conjugates, and next-generation degraders or immuno-targeted approaches, but also delineate distinctive research priorities for each major disease type:
- Renal Cell Carcinoma: Mechanisms of resistance to c-Met/AXL/VEGF-targeted and immune checkpoint therapies; emerging targets beyond the VEGF/mTOR axis; biomarker-guided sequencing of systemic agents.
- Prostate Cancer: Strategies to overcome lineage plasticity, androgen receptor pathway resistance, and neuroendocrine differentiation; advances in radiopharmaceuticals and novel androgen receptor degraders.
- Bladder Cancer: Therapeutic targeting of FGFR alterations, antibody–drug conjugate combinations, and mechanisms of immune evasion in the tumor microenvironment.
- Testicular and Rare GU Cancers: Molecular drivers of germ cell tumors; salvage strategies for platinum-refractory disease; and targeted approaches in penile, urethral, and adrenal malignancies.
Translational and clinical studies that integrate molecular biology with patient care—including biomarker validation, novel imaging techniques, real-world evidence, and early-phase therapeutic trials—are particularly encouraged.
Through this focused collection, Cancers seeks to showcase innovations that drive precision medicine and improve the durability of response in genitourinary cancers, with an emphasis on organ-specific scientific advances that directly inform clinical practice.
Dr. Akash Sabarwal
Dr. Saba Tabasum
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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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
- genitourinary cancer
- therapeutic resistance
- precision oncology
- biomarker-guided therapy
- antibody-drug conjugates
- prostate cancer
- renal cell carcinoma
- bladder cancer
- testicular cancer
- novel modalities
- organ-specific strategies
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