Advances in Development and Spread of Cancer

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past decades, several studies have argued that the accumulation of both genetic and epigenetic alterations and the molecular and signalling pathways alterations determines the intrinsic properties of the cancer cells thus leading to cancer development and spread. Afterwards, the cancer cell-centred view of tumour biology has been challenged by the study of the tumour microenvironment, which has highlighted that cancer progression is also the result of the bidirectional and dynamic complex of interactions between the cancer cells and the stromal cells in the tumour microenvironment. Tumour cells co-evolve with several specialized tissue-resident and/or recruited cells which, working in concert, generate an environment favourable for cancer cells' growth, survival, metastatic spread and colonization at distant sites. Similarly, cancer cells derived exosomes contribute to establishing a cancer-permissive microenvironment and promote cancer malignant phenotype. In addition, recent evidence has demonstrated that microbiota contributes to carcinogenesis, mainly by influencing host cell proliferation and death, altering immune system activity, and affecting host metabolism. All together these lines of evidence suggest that cancer development and spread are complex processes involving multiple players.

In this Special Issue of Cells, I would like to include original research and review articles that contribute to the further unravelling of the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer development and spread. All scientists working in this field are cordially invited to submit their manuscripts.

Dr. Daniela Spano
Guest Editor

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.