New Insights into the Tumor Microenvironment of Pleural Mesothelioma and Opportunities for Novel Treatments
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 January 2026 | Viewed by 20
Special Issue Editor
Interests: cancer; molecular oncology; molecular medicine; targeted therapy; cell signaling; pulmonary diseases
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Despite significant advances in biomedical oncology, pleural mesothelioma (PM), the primary malignancy affecting the pleural membranes, remains one of the most challenging cancers to treat. This is largely due to its complex biology, high inter- and intra-tumoral heterogeneity, and the persistent lack of reliable biomarkers for early detection or actionable molecular targets for effective therapies.
For over two decades, the combination of cisplatin or carboplatin with pemetrexed has remained the standard of care for PM. This static therapeutic landscape has recently begun to evolve with the addition of anti-angiogenic agents and the advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), and numerous clinical trials are currently underway to evaluate the benefits of novel immunotherapies.
Beyond immune and vascular components, increasing evidence points to the involvement of additional cellular populations within the tumor microenvironment (TME) in driving immunosuppression and therapeutic resistance. Among these, cancer-associated fibroblasts, cancer-associated adipocytes, and mesenchymal stromal cells contribute to an immunosuppressive and pro-tumorigenic milieu by releasing inhibitory cytokines, nitric oxide, damage- or pathogen-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs and PAMPs), as well as through direct cell-to-cell interactions or matrix deposition.
Compared to other solid tumors, the molecular features and functional roles of all the cellular components of the TME in mesothelioma are still poorly characterized. A deeper understanding of both immune and non-immune elements of the PM microenvironment is critical to defining a more precise biological landscape and uncovering novel therapeutic targets.
This Special Issue invites original research articles and review papers that investigate the cellular and molecular complexity of the pleural mesothelioma TME.
Your valuable contributions will help expand the current knowledge and potentially pave the way for innovative treatment strategies.
Dr. Marcella Barbarino
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- mesothelioma
- tumor-associated stromal cells
- immunotherapy
- tumor microenvironment
- cancer-associated fibroblast
- mesenchymal stem cells
- endothelial cells
- cancer-associated adipocytes
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