About this Research Topic
Cancer stem cells (CSCs), or tumor-initiating cells (TICs), are the driving force in tumorigenesis, metastasis, and drug resistance. In this regard, eradication of the CSCs may be essential to achieve stable, long-lasting remission, and even a cure for cancer. Various strategies including conventional therapies, targeted therapies, and immunotherapies have been broadly evaluated in targeting these CSCs but failed in clinical trials. Several issues remain in understanding the molecular and cellular biologic features of CSCs, as well as in translation from biologic research of CSCs to the clinic.
The main goal of this Research Topic is to improve and expand readers' knowledge of novel CSC biomarkers, drug targets and therapeutics. This Research Topic highlights the latest advances in defining the molecular features of CSCs in tumors that arise from various tissues, and in exploring new vulnerabilities of CSCs to both known and new therapies, including small-molecule inhibitors, biologic agents, immunotherapies, and other new interventions that targeting CSCs.
It is our pleasure to call for original and review papers that provide new insights on how to identify, target, and block CSCs. Theoretical, experimental, and clinical studies (including Case Reports, Clinical Trials, Corrections, Editorial, Hypothesis and Theory, Methods, Mini Review, Opinion, Original Research, Perspective, Review, Systematic Review and Technology and Code) are welcome.
Themes of interest include, but are not limited to, the following research areas:
• Novel intracellular or extracellular CSCs biomarkers.
• The molecular features of CSCs that could inform new drug targets.
• Therapeutics targeting key pathways that drive and maintain cancer cell stemness.
• Therapeutics targeting the epigenetic regulatory mechanisms in CSCs which contribute to drug resistance, quiescence, and tumor heterogeneity.
• Therapeutics targeting the unique microenvironment of CSCs.
• Immunotoxins that specifically target CSCs.
• Improvement of CSCs therapeutic efficiency by the virtue of nanoparticles or other carrier systems.
• Genome editing-based strategies for targeting CSCs.
Please note: manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by validation (independent cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) are out of scope for this section and will not be accepted as part of this Research Topic.
The main goal of this Research Topic is to improve and expand readers' knowledge of novel CSC biomarkers, drug targets and therapeutics. This Research Topic highlights the latest advances in defining the molecular features of CSCs in tumors that arise from various tissues, and in exploring new vulnerabilities of CSCs to both known and new therapies, including small-molecule inhibitors, biologic agents, immunotherapies, and other new interventions that targeting CSCs.
It is our pleasure to call for original and review papers that provide new insights on how to identify, target, and block CSCs. Theoretical, experimental, and clinical studies (including Case Reports, Clinical Trials, Corrections, Editorial, Hypothesis and Theory, Methods, Mini Review, Opinion, Original Research, Perspective, Review, Systematic Review and Technology and Code) are welcome.
Themes of interest include, but are not limited to, the following research areas:
• Novel intracellular or extracellular CSCs biomarkers.
• The molecular features of CSCs that could inform new drug targets.
• Therapeutics targeting key pathways that drive and maintain cancer cell stemness.
• Therapeutics targeting the epigenetic regulatory mechanisms in CSCs which contribute to drug resistance, quiescence, and tumor heterogeneity.
• Therapeutics targeting the unique microenvironment of CSCs.
• Immunotoxins that specifically target CSCs.
• Improvement of CSCs therapeutic efficiency by the virtue of nanoparticles or other carrier systems.
• Genome editing-based strategies for targeting CSCs.
Please note: manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by validation (independent cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) are out of scope for this section and will not be accepted as part of this Research Topic.
Keywords: Biomarkers, Cancer Stem Cells, Tumor-Initiating Cells, Stemness, Targets, Therapeutics
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
