In Vitro and In Vivo Models of Cancer Progression

Dear Colleagues,

We are delighted to announce a call for submissions to this Special Issue of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences on the topic of In Vitro and In Vivo Models of Cancer Progression.

Since the first investigations on malignant transformation induced by the overexpression of putative oncogenes in NIH 3T3 cells, more and more sophisticated approaches have evolved, along with our appreciation of the complexity of cancer progression and the availability of novel technologies. In vitro 2D cultures and in vivo growth in immunocompromised mice of established, well-characterized cancer cell lines provide feasible proof-of-principle models for pathway dissection and drug testing. This is aided by the availability of a range of techniques for the targeted genetic manipulation of cells and animals. Specific transgenic mice have been generated that undergo spontaneous tumour development or provide a humanized immunocompetent milieu. In a continuous effort to better represent tumour heterogeneity, and the essential role played by tissue architecture and the microenvironment, the use of 3D spheroid and organoid cultures and patient-derived cancer tissues have been developed alongside. Patient-derived xenografts (PDX) have been established to provide clinically relevant models for personalized medicine. Patient-derived organoids (PDO) and organs-on-a-chip recapitulate complexity in an actionable animal-free context. Multi-omics characterization and high-content analysis add in-depth knowledge for drug discovery/repositioning and systems biology.

We encourage the submission of both original research articles and topical reviews that focus on modelling cancer progression through in vitro and in vivo approaches for the advancement of our understanding of tumour biology and translation to the clinic.

Prof. Dr. Roberta Di Pietro
Dr. Emanuela Guerra
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.

• tumour biology
• cancer progression
• cancer microenvironment
• in vitro and in vivo models
• patient-derived xenografts
• patient-derived organoids
• organs-on-a-chip
• multi-omics
• drug discovery
• drug repositioning