Obesity and Cancer: Molecular, Cellular and Systemic Mechanisms Underlying Tumor Initiation, Progression and Prognosis
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: 20 September 2026 | Viewed by 258
Editors
Interests: research on the molecular and metabolic bases of obesity, focusing on metabolic reprogramming, adipose tissue dysfunction, and the roles of adipokines, inflammation, and insulin resistance in metabolic disease; mechanisms linking obesity and cancer; adipocyte–tumor crosstalk and tumor microenvironment alterations in obesity-associated cancers; identifying diagnostic and therapeutic biomarkers and metabolic vulnerabilities
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: chromatography-based metabolomics; adipocyte–tumor crosstalk in obesity-associated cancers; cancer metabolism and tumor microenvironment; diagnostic and therapeutic biomarkers
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Obesity has emerged as a major global health challenge and is now widely recognized as a significant risk factor for multiple malignancies. A growing body of epidemiological and experimental evidence indicates a strong association between excess adiposity and increased cancer incidence, progression, and mortality. However, the molecular and cellular mechanisms linking obesity and tumorigenesis remain complex and only partially understood.
Obesity induces profound systemic and cellular alterations, including chronic low-grade inflammation, metabolic dysregulation, insulin resistance, altered adipokine secretion, and immune dysfunction. These changes influence the tumor microenvironment and modulate key signaling pathways involved in cell proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and metastasis. Recent advances in molecular biology, multi-omics technologies, and systems biology approaches have provided new insights into the metabolic and inflammatory networks that contribute to cancer development and progression.
We invite researchers working in the fields of molecular biology, metabolism, oncology, and related biomedical disciplines to contribute to this Special Issue. We particularly welcome studies that provide mechanistic insights into the biological links between obesity and cancer, as well as research exploring novel biomarkers, signaling pathways, and therapeutic targets involved in obesity-associated tumor development and progression.
This Special Issue will provide a comprehensive overview of the molecular, cellular, and systemic mechanisms linking obesity and cancer, with particular emphasis on mechanistic studies that advance our understanding of tumor initiation, progression, and therapeutic response. By bringing together interdisciplinary contributions from molecular biology, metabolism research, immunology, and oncology, this Special Issue will highlight emerging pathways, biomarkers, and potential therapeutic targets involved in obesity-associated cancers.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Molecular pathways linking obesity and tumorigenesis;
- Adipose tissue biology and adipocyte–tumor cell interactions;
- Metabolic reprogramming and cancer metabolism in obesity;
- Inflammation, immune regulation, and obesity-driven tumor progression;
- Adipokines, cytokines, and endocrine signaling in cancer development;
- Insulin/IGF signaling and metabolic syndrome in cancer risk;
- Epigenetic regulation and transcriptional networks in obesity-related cancers;
- Tumor microenvironment remodeling in obesity;
- Multi-omics approaches in obesity-associated cancer;
- Biomarkers for cancer risk, prognosis, and therapy response in obese patients;
- Experimental models of obesity-driven tumorigenesis;
- Therapeutic strategies targeting metabolic and inflammatory pathways.
By integrating mechanistic insights from basic and translational research, this Special Issue will advance our understanding of the biological interplay between obesity and cancer and identify new opportunities for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
Dr. María Herranz-López
Guest Editor
Dr. María Losada Echeberría
Guest Editor Assistant
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-anonymized 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
- obesity
- cancer metabolism
- tumor microenvironment
- adipose tissue
- adipokines
- inflammation
- insulin resistance
- metabolic reprogramming
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