Immunotherapy: Up to Date Progress in Childhood and Hematological Malignancies

A majority of immunotherapy studies have focussed on adult cancers. However, many treatments have shown promise in children. Childhood hematologic malignancies are relatively rare however are found to be a major cause of death in children aged 1-14.  Immunotherapy has become an important part of treatment for these cancers. The field is constantly changing as new immunotherapy treatments are being tested and approved and new ways of working with the immune system are being discovered at a fast pace. There are a variety of immunotherapies and the development of undesirable side effects as well as resistance. Developments in the understanding of tumor immunology have resulted in new information which invited the development of tumor-associated antigens for immune cell targeting. There has been a recent surge in immune-based therapies for childhood hematologic malignancies and how we treat children with these cancers in general. 

The present Research Topic will address the knowledge gap. We plan to invite review articles, and research articles that will cover the up-to-date progress in the field of immunotherapy, especially in childhood and hematological malignancies. This collection will help in better understanding immunotherapy and its advancement in childhood hematologic malignancies.

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.