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Molecular Research for Cancer Immunotherapy

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: 30 October 2025 | Viewed by 1833

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Interests: immune cells in tumor microenvironment; lung cancer; head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; oral cancer; extracellular matrix; chemoimmunotherapy; immunotherapy; immune checkpoints inhibitors; cancer stem cells; immune evasion; immune related-resistance mechanisms

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Given the significant advances in quality of life and survival for patients with advanced tumors that have come with immunotherapy becoming a therapy of choice, this Special Issue attempts to explore the latest findings in molecular research in cancer immunotherapy. Focusing on deepening our understanding of the molecular complexities that govern the interaction between tumors and immune cells, we invite contributions investigating the role of molecular pathways in tumor immune evasion, characterizing the immune tumor microenvironment, identifying new biomarkers, and highlighting innovative molecular-based immunotherapeutic approaches, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, CAR-T cell therapy, and cancer vaccines. This Special Issue aims to allow for more the establishment of effective cancer immunotherapies.

Dr. Mariana Malvicini
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.

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Keywords

  • cancer immunotherapy
  • tumor immune microenvironment
  • tumor immune evasion
  • adoptive cell therapies
  • immune checkpoint inhibitors
  • neoantigen-based vaccines
  • chemoimmunoresistance
  • primary immunoresistance
  • adaptive immunoresistance
  • tumor associated-macrophages
  • tumor-immune crosstalk

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

22 pages, 1584 KB  
Review
STINGing Cancer: Development, Clinical Application, and Targeted Delivery of STING Agonists
by Yannick Gabriel Nerdinger, Amanda Katharina Binder, Franziska Bremm, Niklas Feuchter, Niels Schaft and Jan Dörrie
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(18), 9008; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26189008 - 16 Sep 2025
Viewed by 1487
Abstract
As cancer incidence continues to rise and conventional therapies remain of limited effectiveness, the search for novel and innovative cancer treatments is ongoing. In recent years, immunotherapies, including checkpoint inhibitors and cell-based approaches such as CAR-T cell therapy, have revolutionized the treatment of [...] Read more.
As cancer incidence continues to rise and conventional therapies remain of limited effectiveness, the search for novel and innovative cancer treatments is ongoing. In recent years, immunotherapies, including checkpoint inhibitors and cell-based approaches such as CAR-T cell therapy, have revolutionized the treatment of cancer. However, response rates even to well-established immunotherapies remain low in several types of cancer. Therefore, various novel immunomodulatory substances are currently under investigation, among them agonists of the intracellular signaling protein STING (STimulator of INterferon Genes). Activation of the STING signaling pathway can alter the cytokine profile within the tumor microenvironment (TME) and reshape the function of various immune cells. STING agonists have yielded promising results in preclinical studies, but this success has not yet been replicated in clinical trials. Consequently, STING agonists are optimized for greater potency and combined with nanotechnologies to enhance biodistribution and achieve sustained accumulation within the TME. This review summarizes a selection of STING agonists evaluated in clinical trials to date and discusses their effects on tumor-infiltration immune cells, especially macrophages. It highlights emerging candidates currently under investigation in preclinical studies, and explores nanotechnological approaches for their combinational use to enhance therapeutic efficacy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Research for Cancer Immunotherapy)
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