Recent Innovations in Cancer Genomics
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Genetics and Genomics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 99
Editor
Interests: cancer genetics and genomics; translational research; newest technologies; early-detection biomarkers; prognostic markers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Recent innovations in cancer genomics are increasingly integrating next-gene sequencing (NGS)—especially whole exome or whole genome sequencing with enhanced data pipelines and real-world clinical records—to directly improve patient care. This approach provides a comprehensive view of a tumor's genetic landscape, moving beyond targeted panels to offer more precise diagnostics and personalized treatment strategies. Integrating NGS with longitudinal clinical data allows researchers to find associations between specific genetic changes and survival rates or treatment responses. This helps clinicians make more informed decisions about patient care. It underscores a key trend: connecting cutting-edge genomics directly to patient care. For example, liquid biopsies analyze circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) from blood to track cancer evolution, enabling early detection, monitoring, and identification of resistance mechanisms without invasive biopsies.
Tumor-informed MRD (tiMRD) builds personalized panels based on each patient’s tumor mutations, offering precise surveillance of relapse risk and response to treatment. The convergence of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, epigenomic, and metabolomic data enables a comprehensive understanding of tumor biology, paving the way for superior biomarker discovery and tailored therapies. Spatial multi-omics further advances this by mapping the interactions between tumor and microenvironment cells within tissue architecture, particularly useful in studying immune evasion and therapy resistance. CRISPR/dCas9-based epigenetic tools (e.g., dCas9-p300 and dCas9-TET1) enable precise modifications of gene expression without DNA cleavage. EPIC Seq is a noninvasive assay that captures epigenetic and transcriptional markers from cfDNA for cancer detection, subtype classification (e.g., distinguishing lung adenocarcinoma vs. squamous cell carcinoma), and even predicting immunotherapy responses. Microbiomes are key components in cancer development and progression. AI and deep learning are accelerating discovery by making sense of vast genomic data for actionable insights.
This Special Issue invites clinical and pure model submissions with biomolecular experiments. It focuses on recent studies investigating cutting-edge discoveries or technologies in circulating tumor DNA, tumor-informed MRD, spatial multi-omics, CRISPR/dCas9-based epigenetic tools, EPIC Seq, AI and deep learning, as well as other state-of-the-art discoveries that can be used in clinical settings.
Dr. Musaffe Tuna
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- multi-omics in clinic
- epic-seq
- crispr/dcas9-based epigenetic tools
- AI and deep learning in clinical setting
- microbiome in cancer
- early detection
- prognostic and/or predictive markers
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