Germline Susceptibility and Somatic Genetic Alterations in Carcinogenesis
A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Physiology and Pathology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 29
Special Issue Editors
Interests: cancer biology; cancer genetics; environmental toxicology; thirdhand smoke; biomarker development; translational medicine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: computer; vision machine learning; image processing; bioinformatics; computational biology; imaging biomarkers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Cancer arises from a complex interplay between inherited genetic predispositions and acquired somatic mutations. This Special Issue explores the dynamic relationship between germline susceptibility loci and somatic genetic alterations, emphasizing the role of their convergence in tumor initiation, progression, and response to therapy.
Advancements in next-generation sequencing and integrative genomics have unveiled novel germline variants that modulate cancer risk across diverse tissues and populations. At same time, systematic analyses of somatic mutation landscapes have deepened our understanding of cancer-specific drivers, mutational signatures, and clonal evolution.
This Issue brings together original research and reviews that examine
- The influence of germline variants on somatic mutation rates, spectra, and selection;
- Mechanistic insights into how germline-somatic interactions shape cancer phenotypes and vulnerabilities;
- The role of inherited predisposition in tissue-specific oncogenesis, including penetrance-modifying somatic events;
- The impact of host genetics on tumor immune microenvironment and therapy response;
- Methodological advances in detecting allele-specific expression, mosaicism, and germline-somatic interactions in large-scale cancer datasets.
By integrating constitutional and somatic genomics, this collection underscores the need for a holistic view of cancer genetics—one that informs risk prediction, early detection, precision therapy, and familial cancer management.
We hope this Special Issue stimulates further interdisciplinary research bridging cancer epidemiology, molecular genetics, and clinical oncology.
Dr. Jian-Hua Mao
Dr. Hang Chang
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. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). 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
- gene mutation
- genetic susceptibility
- cancer genetics
- genome-wide association study
- multi-omics
- next generation sequencing
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
