Design of Small Molecules to Target Metastatic Cancer Cells

Dear Colleagues,

Metastasis is a highly complex process in which cancer cells spread to distant organs. The presence of metastases in cancer patients greatly increases the risk of death. Thus, metastasis research in the last two decades has focused on the biology of the process, leading to the identification of cancer cell proteins that control key functions during the metastatic cascade, such as membrane receptors, adhesion molecules, proteases, kinases, GTPases, and transcription factors. Furthermore, molecules in the metastatic microenvironment, such as growth factors, cytokines, and extracellular matrix proteins, are also critical in the development of secondary tumors. At present, many such proteins are considered valid targets for the development of therapeutic strategies for blocking the metastatic dissemination of cancer cells. However, the development of anti-metastatic small molecules is still required.

We invite authors to submit original research and review articles that describe the design and/or development of small molecules aimed at targeting key functions in the metastatic process, including invasion, intravasation, survival in circulation, homing and extravasation, and/or proliferation in metastatic niches. The resulting compilation of articles will be published as a Special Issue in Pharmaceuticals, allowing the reader to attain a wide vision of the state of the art in the field.

Dr. Marco A. Velasco-Velázquez
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.

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. Pharmaceuticals 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 2900 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.