Precision Medicine and Tumor Microenvironment in Colorectal Cancer: Genetics, Biomarkers, and Personalized Models
A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Physiology and Pathology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 215
Editor
Interests: oncology and gastroenterology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains one of the most challenging malignancies in modern oncology, owing to its marked molecular heterogeneity and the complex biological interactions that govern tumor initiation, progression, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance. Beyond the contribution of genetic and epigenetic alterations, increasing evidence highlights the central role of the tumor microenvironment, including immune infiltrates, stromal cells, angiogenic networks, extracellular matrix remodeling, inflammatory mediators, and microbiota-related factors, in shaping disease behavior and clinical outcome. At the same time, advances in multi-omics technologies, spatial profiling, liquid biopsy, digital pathology, and patient-derived experimental systems are transforming CRC research and opening up new avenues for biomarker discovery and individualized treatment. We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue, “Precision Medicine and Tumor Microenvironment in Colorectal Cancer: Genetics, Biomarkers, and Personalized Models”.
This Special Issue will represent a multidisciplinary forum for the dissemination of innovative research focused on the integration of molecular profiling, microenvironmental characterization, and personalized models in CRC. By bringing together basic, translational, and clinically orientated studies, this Special Issue will deepen our understanding of CRC biology and promote the development of precision medicine strategies for improved diagnosis, prognosis, therapeutic selection, treatment monitoring, and resistance assessment.
For this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Genetic and epigenetic determinants of CRC heterogeneity;
- Predictive, prognostic, and diagnostic biomarkers;
- Tumor microenvironment, immune contexture, inflammation, and stromal biology;
- Microbiota–tumor interactions;
- Liquid biopsy and minimal residual disease;
- Multi-omics and spatially resolved analyses;
- Radiomics, digital pathology, and artificial intelligence;
- Mechanisms of response and resistance to targeted therapies and immunotherapy;
- Patient-derived organoids, xenografts, organ-on-chip systems, and co-culture models;
- Biomarker-driven and personalized therapeutic strategies in CRC.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Edoardo D'Angelo
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 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. 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
- colorectal cancer
- precision medicine
- tumor microenvironment
- biomarkers
- multi-omics
- liquid biopsy
- patient-derived models
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