Cancer Diagnostics in Solid Tumors - From Pathology to Precision Oncology

Precision Medicine and Precision Oncology are fast-paced scientific fields with rapidly evolving landscapes, which brought about a paradigm shift in disease diagnosis and treatment, increasingly allowing the evolution from the traditional patient stratification based on phenotypic biomarkers to ever-increasing customization and tailoring of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions to the molecular features of individual patients and their disease. Precision Oncology applies genomic, other “omics”, and molecular analysis of patients and their biological specimens, including tissue and liquid biopsies, aiming to identify individual biomarkers with diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive value to tailor, and track, therapeutic interventions, and outcomes along the full patient treatment continuum. 

Within multidisciplinary oncology teams, key complementary expertise and technical skills are brought together to provide the best possible diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to each individual patient. Pathologists are long-standing gatekeepers of cancer diagnostics, with the Pathologist role evolving from the traditional Anatomic Pathologist to an emerging role of Molecular Pathologist. Currently, they increasingly occupy a pivotal and central role in multidisciplinary oncology teams and Molecular Tumor Boards, bridging anatomic pathology with cellular and molecular biology, being pivotal and increasingly involved in multidisciplinary treatment decisions and response monitoring, far beyond their traditional role in cancer diagnosis. Importantly, in addition to pathologists, Precision Oncology requires the involvement of multiple key stakeholders, expertise, technologies, and data, with the full potential of personalized medicine in oncology only being achievable by integrating all perspectives, placing the patient in the center, and working towards individualized preventive, diagnostic, treatment and follow-up approaches. The Current Research Topic, “Cancer Diagnostics in Solid Tumors-From Pathology to Precision Oncology”, would like to encompass the full spectrum of Precision Oncology in solid tumors, including all aspects of cancer diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, and treatment tailored specifically to the individual patient based on its genetic and/or molecular profile.

The current research topic is interested and open to receive Review articles and Mini-Review articles, and also Original Research articles, and Brief Research Report articles, providing overview on the state of the art and future trends on the following topics and their impact on Precision Oncology:

• Clinical trials and clinical trial design in Precision Oncology

• State of the art in Precision Oncology, from diagnostics to treatment, in Different solid Tumors 

• Pathology and molecular pathology

• Liquid Biopsies

• Molecular Tumor Boards

• Biobanks

• Biomarkers and cDx in cancer (including development, technical & regulatory aspects)

• Omics and molecular profiling 

• Theranostics and nanomedicine

• Imaging and nuclear medicine

• Digital Pathology and Artificial Intelligence 

• Digital Health

• Multi-stakeholder perspectives in Precision Oncology (Patient-, Healthcare Systems-,...)

Disclaimer: Dr. Pedro Borralho is an employee of Novartis Portugal. All contributions, opinions, and activity by Pedro within Frontiers are scientific individual contributions of the editor and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Novartis Portugal. All other editors declare no conflict of interest.