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Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): The Changes of Molecular Immunotherapy and Targeted Therapy 2.0

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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: closed (25 December 2023) | Viewed by 5573

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Alessandra Bearz

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Guest Editor

Lung Cancer Unit, Department of Medical Oncology, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO), IRCCS, 33081 Aviano, Italy
Interests: lung cancer; pleural cancer
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Umberto Tirelli

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Guest Editor

Tirelli Clinical Group, 33170 Pordenone, Italy
Interests: tumors in the elderly; chronic fatigue syndrome; long-term cancer survivorship; ozone therapy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Worldwide, lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related deaths. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common variety accounting for 84% of the cases. Molecular targeted therapies and immunotherapies for NSCLC have improved outcomes markedly over the past two decades. However, the vast majority of advanced NSCLCs become resistant to current treatments and eventually progress.

In this perspective, this Special Issue of IJMS seeks to compile a series of original research articles and timely, comprehensive reviews encompassing all aspects of NSCLC. Investigations into the myriad changes within the tumor microenvironment, including angiogenesis, invasion, epithelial–mesenchymal transition, cancer stem cells, deciphering molecular changes, and identifying biomarkers and predictors of prognosis and behavior, as well as advances in therapeutic options and resistance mechanisms, are topics of special interest. Contributions on other significant topics that further enhance our understanding of Molecular Immunotherapy and Targeted Therapy of NSCLC are also welcome.

Prof. Dr. Alessandra Bearz
Prof. Dr. Umberto Tirelli
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.

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

NSCLC
lung disease
target therapy
immunotherapy
cerebral metastasis

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 300 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Real-World Experience in Treatment of Patients with Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer with BRAF or cMET Exon 14 Skipping Mutations

by Urska Janzic, Walid Shalata, Katarzyna Szymczak, Rafał Dziadziuszko, Marko Jakopovic, Giannis Mountzios, Adam Płużański, Antonio Araujo, Andriani Charpidou and Abed Agbarya

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(16), 12840; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241612840 - 16 Aug 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1471

Abstract

BRAF and cMET exon 14 skipping are rare mutations of NSCLC. The treatment sequence in these cases for the first and second line is not clear. An international registry was created for patients with advanced NSCLC harboring BRAF or cMET exon 14 skipping mutations, diagnosed from January 2017 to June 2022. Clinicopathological and molecular data and treatment patterns were recorded. Data on 58 patients, from eight centers across five countries, were included in the final analysis. We found that 40 patients had the cMET exon 14 skipping mutation and 18 had the BRAF V600E mutation. In total, 53 and 28 patients received first- and second-line treatments, respectively, among which 52.8% received targeted therapy (TT) in the first line and 53.5% in the second line. The overall response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) for first-line treatment with TT vs. other treatment such as immune checkpoint inhibitors ± chemotherapy (IO ± CT) were 55.6% vs. 21.7% (p = 0.0084) and 66.7% vs. 39.1% (p = 0.04), respectively. The type of treatment in first-line TT vs. other affected time to treatment discontinuation (TTD) was 11.6 m vs. 4.6 m (p= 0.006). The overall survival for the whole group was 15.4 m and was not statistically affected by the type of treatment (19.2 m vs. 13.5 m; p = 0.83). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): The Changes of Molecular Immunotherapy and Targeted Therapy 2.0)

Review

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13 pages, 533 KiB

Open AccessReview

Therapeutical Options in ROS1—Rearranged Advanced Non Small Cell Lung Cancer

by Brigida Stanzione, Alessandro Del Conte, Elisa Bertoli, Elisa De Carlo, Alberto Revelant, Michele Spina and Alessandra Bearz

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(14), 11495; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241411495 - 15 Jul 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1516

Abstract

ROS proto-oncogene 1 (ROS1) rearrangements occur in 0.9–2.6% of patients with non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), conferring sensitivity to treatment with specific tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (TKI). Crizotinib, a first-generation TKI, was the first target-therapy approved for the first-line treatment of ROS1-positive NSCLC. Recently, entrectinib, a multitarget inhibitor with an anti-ROS1 activity 40 times more potent than crizotinib and better activity on the central nervous system (CNS), received approval for treatment-naive patients. After a median time-to-progression of 5.5–20 months, resistance mechanisms can occur, leading to tumor progression. Therefore, newer generation TKI with greater potency and brain penetration have been developed and are currently under investigation. This review summarizes the current knowledge on clinicopathological characteristics of ROS1-positive NSCLC and its therapeutic options. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): The Changes of Molecular Immunotherapy and Targeted Therapy 2.0)

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26 pages, 1294 KiB

Open AccessReview

Liquid Biopsy in NSCLC: An Investigation with Multiple Clinical Implications

by Elisa Bertoli, Elisa De Carlo, Debora Basile, Diego Zara, Brigida Stanzione, Monica Schiappacassi, Alessandro Del Conte, Michele Spina and Alessandra Bearz

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(13), 10803; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241310803 - 28 Jun 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2207

Abstract

Tissue biopsy is essential for NSCLC diagnosis and treatment management. Over the past decades, liquid biopsy has proven to be a powerful tool in clinical oncology, isolating tumor-derived entities from the blood. Liquid biopsy permits several advantages over tissue biopsy: it is non-invasive, and it should provide a better view of tumor heterogeneity, gene alterations, and clonal evolution. Consequentially, liquid biopsy has gained attention as a cancer biomarker tool, with growing clinical applications in NSCLC. In the era of precision medicine based on molecular typing, non-invasive genotyping methods became increasingly important due to the great number of oncogene drivers and the small tissue specimen often available. In our work, we comprehensively reviewed established and emerging applications of liquid biopsy in NSCLC. We made an excursus on laboratory analysis methods and the applications of liquid biopsy either in early or metastatic NSCLC disease settings. We deeply reviewed current data and future perspectives regarding screening, minimal residual disease, micrometastasis detection, and their implication in adjuvant and neoadjuvant therapy management. Moreover, we reviewed liquid biopsy diagnostic utility in the absence of tissue biopsy and its role in monitoring treatment response and emerging resistance in metastatic NSCLC treated with target therapy and immuno-therapy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): The Changes of Molecular Immunotherapy and Targeted Therapy 2.0)

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