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Cancer Stem Cells as Key Immunotherapy Targets

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Immunology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 18

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Research Center for Functional Genomics, Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj Napoca, Romania
Interests: bone marrow transplantation; stem cells; cancer immunology; autophagy; anti-cancer drug design and discovery; graft vs. host disease

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to contribute your work and be part of a focused effort to redefine the future of immuno-oncology through the lens of cancer stem cell biology.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs), a rare yet pivotal subpopulation within tumors, are endowed with the ability to self-renew, resist conventional therapies, drive metastasis, and relapse, and represent protagonists of tumorigenesis. Recent breakthroughs in cancer immunotherapy have highlighted the need to effectively recognize, target, and eliminate CSCs to achieve durable and complete responses.

This Special Issue of IJMS aims to gather original research articles, mechanistic studies, and comprehensive reviews that address the molecular and immunological landscape of CSCs and their implications in immunotherapy. We welcome multidisciplinary contributions at the interface of cancer biology, molecular immunology, and translational medicine.

Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Molecular markers and signaling pathways specific to CSCs;
  • CSC-driven immune evasion mechanisms;
  • Development of CAR-T, CAR-NK, or TCR-engineered immune cells targeting CSCs;
  • Immune checkpoint modulation in the CSC niche and tumor microenvironment;
  • CSC-targeted vaccines and antibody-based immunotherapies;
  • Tumor microenvironment influences on CSC immunogenicity;
  • Preclinical or clinical studies evaluating immunotherapies aimed at CSC eradication.

By focusing on the elusive and resilient CSC subpopulation, this Issue seeks to inspire novel immunotherapeutic strategies capable of preventing recurrence and improving long-term outcomes for cancer patients.

Dr. Cosmin Andrei Cismaru
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 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.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. 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

  • cancer stem cells
  • immunotherapy
  • immune escape
  • tumor antigens
  • cancer recurrence

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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