Advances in Immunotherapy for Cancer: From Molecular Basis to Novel Biomarkers and Therapeutic Targets—2nd Edition
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Oncology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 13
Special Issue Editors
Interests: breast cancer; cancer vaccines; cancer immunotherapy; tumor microenvironment; microbiota; cancer stem cells; tumor antigens
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: malignant melanoma; metabolic reprogramming; tumor microenvironment; metabolic cross-talk; NAD; NAMPT; immunotherapy; biomarker; therapy resistance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
We are delighted to announce that this Special Issue, entitled “Advances in Immunotherapy for Cancer: From Molecular Basis to Novel Biomarkers and Therapeutic Targets”, is now open to receiving proposals.
Despite remarkable advances in immunotherapy that have improved patient survival, cancer mortality due to therapy resistance and metastatic spread still represents an unsolved problem. Current studies demonstrate that a deeper understanding of molecular, metabolic, and functional cross-talk between cancer and immune cells within the tumor microenvironment would be central to improving patient outcomes.
To this aim, in this Special Issue of IJMS, we will focus on the most recent advances in the field of cancer immunotherapy, with a focus on the discovery of new targets and biomarkers and on the tumor microenvironment, addressing how alterations to its molecular and metabolic features impact the response to immunotherapy. Such knowledge could represent the basis for the rational design of new immunotherapeutic and combined strategies for cancer patients’ treatment and for the identification of novel predictive biomarkers to monitor patients’ immune responses.
For papers submitted to IJMS, non-targeted syntheses and studies without a molecular focus are outside the scope. Clinical trials and animal or cell studies are eligible only if they are essential to support hypotheses or theories concerning structure–function correlations. We invite basic and clinical investigators to submit their valuable work either as original articles or reviews to this Special Issue. We welcome your contributions and look forward to hearing from you.
Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Mechanisms of immune suppression and immune escape;
- Functional cross-talk between tumor and immune cells within tumor microenvironment: metabolic signals and soluble molecules;
- Novel agents that regulate immune response;
- Immunotherapy: clinical and biological effects and limits;
- Metabolic and molecular mechanisms of resistance to immunotherapy;
- Future perspectives for immune checkpoint inhibitors;
- Novel predictive biomarkers of therapy response;
- Novel targets to be used in combination with immunotherapy;
- Cancer vaccination;
- Tumor antigens.
Dr. Laura Conti
Dr. Valentina Audrito
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 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. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
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Keywords
- tumor microenvironment
- immune suppression
- metabolic and molecular mechanisms of resistance to therapy
- tumor immune escape
- immunotherapy
- immune checkpoint inhibitors
- cancer vaccination
- tumor-infiltrating cells
- biomarkers
- tumor antigens
- cancer metabolism
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