The purpose of immunotherapies is to enhance the antitumor effect of the patient’s own immune system. The use of monoclonal antibodies and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) represent revolutionary breakthroughs in the management of many cancers. However, these immunotherapies only provide clinical benefit to a small proportion of patients. Although drug-resistance has been proposed to be due to the functional changes in many signaling pathways in cancer cells, the mechanism is yet to be fully understood.
In recent years, more and more studies have found synergistic activity between chemo/radio therapy and ICI treatments. It has been discovered that the chemo/radio therapies change the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) resulting in improved tumor responses. There is intense interest in using chemo/radio therapy in combination with immunotherapies to augment anti-tumor immune responses and improve treatment outcome.
This Research Topic aims to highlight the emerging role of the TME, discuss potential challenges of therapeutic manipulations of the TME after radio/chemotherapy and review how radio/chemotherapy affects the clinical outcomes of immunotherapies. We welcome the submissions of Original Research, Review, Mini Review, Opinion and Perspective that cover the recent advances made in the TME affected by radio/chemotherapies and immunotherapies, which include but are not limited to:
1. Multiomics analysis of the impact of radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy on the TME;
2. Single-cell sequencing analysis of the impact of radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy on tumor immunity;
3. Screening of diagnostic/therapeutic markers for radiotherapy/chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy;
4. Exploration of the mechanisms underlying functional genomics in immune infiltration;
5. Development of preclinical models that facilitate the research on the genomics of human immunity;
6. Analysis of genetic/epigenetic changes related to the TME after chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy.
The purpose of immunotherapies is to enhance the antitumor effect of the patient’s own immune system. The use of monoclonal antibodies and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) represent revolutionary breakthroughs in the management of many cancers. However, these immunotherapies only provide clinical benefit to a small proportion of patients. Although drug-resistance has been proposed to be due to the functional changes in many signaling pathways in cancer cells, the mechanism is yet to be fully understood.
In recent years, more and more studies have found synergistic activity between chemo/radio therapy and ICI treatments. It has been discovered that the chemo/radio therapies change the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) resulting in improved tumor responses. There is intense interest in using chemo/radio therapy in combination with immunotherapies to augment anti-tumor immune responses and improve treatment outcome.
This Research Topic aims to highlight the emerging role of the TME, discuss potential challenges of therapeutic manipulations of the TME after radio/chemotherapy and review how radio/chemotherapy affects the clinical outcomes of immunotherapies. We welcome the submissions of Original Research, Review, Mini Review, Opinion and Perspective that cover the recent advances made in the TME affected by radio/chemotherapies and immunotherapies, which include but are not limited to:
1. Multiomics analysis of the impact of radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy on the TME;
2. Single-cell sequencing analysis of the impact of radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy on tumor immunity;
3. Screening of diagnostic/therapeutic markers for radiotherapy/chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy;
4. Exploration of the mechanisms underlying functional genomics in immune infiltration;
5. Development of preclinical models that facilitate the research on the genomics of human immunity;
6. Analysis of genetic/epigenetic changes related to the TME after chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy.