Discovery and Development of Anti-Cancer Drugs: From Signalling Pathways to Molecular Mechanisms
A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Chemical Biology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 621
Special Issue Editors
2. INCT-UroGen Coordinator, National Institute of Science, Technology and Innovation in Genitourinary Cancer (INCT), Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Interests: immunology; immune oncology; genitourinary cancer; urologic oncology; oncology; urology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology; vaccine; immunochemistry
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue, entitled "Discovery and Development of Anti-Cancer Drugs: From Signalling Pathways to Molecular Mechanisms", aims to highlight groundbreaking advances in the understanding of cancer chemicobiology and the translation of these insights into novel therapeutic strategies. By bridging the gap between basic molecular research and drug development, this issue seeks to promote interdisciplinary collaboration among medicinal chemists, cancer biologists, and immunologists, and it will emphasize the mechanistic foundations that drive the discovery and optimization of targeted anti-cancer therapies.
The development of next-generation cancer therapies demands a deep understanding of the molecular circuitry that drives tumor progression and therapeutic resistance. The focus will be on unraveling key oncogenic signaling pathways, tumor microenvironmental interactions, and molecular determinants of drug sensitivity and resistance. Special attention will be given to the rational design of small molecules, biologics, and immunotherapies that target these pathways, as well as to novel approaches in preclinical modeling, biomarker identification, and clinical translation.
Prof. Dr. Leonardo Oliveira Reis
Prof. Dr. Lívia Bitencourt Pascoal
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- discovery of small-molecule inhibitors targeting oncogenic kinases and transcription factors
- mechanisms of action and resistance for current and emerging cancer drugs
- targeting DNA damage response pathways (e.g., PARP, ATR, ATM inhibitors)
- molecular crosstalk between tumor cells and the immune system
- role of epigenetics in cancer drug resistance and sensitivity
- tumor metabolism as a therapeutic target in Immunochemistry
- structure-based drug design and virtual screening
- antibody–drug conjugates and novel biologic therapeutics
- RNA-targeting therapeutics and mRNA-based cancer vaccines
- advances in PROTACs and targeted protein degradation
- application of AI and computational chemical biology in drug discovery
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