New Insights into Targeted Therapy for Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: From Molecular Biology to Tumor Microenvironment

Dear Colleagues, 

Molecularly targeted therapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has reached remarkable progress with the advent of next-generation sequencing. However, many problems remain that need to be solved. 

First, there is still a lack of information on its predictive biomarkers other than driver oncogene mutations. For example, a certain number of patients do not respond to molecularly targeted therapy even if they harbor the corresponding mutations. Furthermore, biomarker studies focus mostly on genomics, but others need to be focused, including proteomics, epigenomics, and metabolomics. 

Second, the relationships between molecularly targeted therapy and tumor microenvironment need to be elucidated. Recent studies have suggested that the efficacy of molecularly targeted therapy is affected by the immune environment, and conversely, molecularly targeted therapy affects the immune environment. 

Third, long-term clinical benefit is inevitably compromised by multiple resistance mechanisms. Almost all molecularly targeted therapies, even if initially successful, encounter acquired resistance. Overcoming the mechanisms behind acquired resistance and establishing post-resistance treatment strategies are urgent issues. 

In this Special Issue, we are looking for the latest insights into therapeutic strategies for NSCLC from the vast field of molecular biology and from the perspective of the tumor microenvironment.

Dr. Nobuhiko Seki
Dr. Shigeru Tanzawa
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 short 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. Cells 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 2700 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.