Overcoming Drug Resistance in Cancer: Molecular Mechanisms and Innovative Strategies
A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Medicinal Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026
Special Issue Editor
Interests: cancer therapy; anti-infective drugs; molecular mechanisms; drug synthesis; targeted therapies; bioactive heterocycle synthesis; docking and molecular modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Drug resistance remains one of the most urgent barriers to effective cancer treatment. Despite the development of novel agents and therapeutic modalities, many patients experience relapse or reduced efficacy due to adaptive tumor biology. Understanding the genetic and epigenetic drivers of resistance, as well as the signaling pathways that enable tumor survival, is critical for advancing oncology. This Special Issue aims to highlight innovative strategies that address these challenges and accelerate the translation of laboratory findings into clinical practice. This Special Issue will provide a platform for researchers to present cutting-edge work on the mechanisms underlying drug resistance and the strategies designed to overcome it. Contributions may span fundamental molecular insights, preclinical validation, and translational approaches, with emphasis on therapies that improve patient outcomes and reduce treatment failure.
By focusing on drug resistance—a central obstacle in oncology—this Special Issue will attract impactful contributions from across disciplines. The collected works will provide new insights into tumor biology, inspire novel therapeutic strategies, and foster collaboration between basic scientists and clinical researchers. Ultimately, the issue aims to accelerate progress toward more durable and effective cancer treatments.
Topics of Interest:
- Genetic and epigenetic determinants of drug resistance;
- Adaptive signaling pathways and tumor microenvironment interactions;
- Novel combination therapies designed to overcome resistance;
- Mechanisms of resistance to targeted therapies, immunotherapies, and chemotherapies;
- Preclinical models for studying resistance and therapeutic response;
- Biomarkers for predicting resistance and guiding personalized treatment;
- Innovative drug delivery systems to bypass resistance mechanisms.
Dr. Brindusa Tiperciuc
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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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
- cancer therapeutics
- epigenetic regulation
- adaptive signaling pathways
- tumor microenvironment
- cancer targeted therapy resistance
- biomarkers
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