About this Research Topic

Background

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have profoundly transformed the landscape of cancer therapy and have become the established treatment for numerous cancer types. Nonetheless, the emergence of immune-related adverse effects (irAEs) remains a common occurrence, affecting as many as 70% of patients. These irAEs can manifest in any organ within the body and may appear at any point during treatment or even months afterward. In some rare cases, they can result in the need for lifelong medication or, tragically, lead to fatalities. Notably, the development of irAEs has shown a correlation with the clinical response to therapy, highlighting the significance of early recognition of irAEs. This recognition can enhance our ability to monitor patients at risk, gain insights into the underlying disease mechanisms, and reduce the overall impact of immune-related toxicity.

The goal of this Research Topic is to create a collection of the latest research in the field of biomarkers of ICI toxicity that advances our understanding of the underlying pathomechanisms of irAEs, risk factors for irAE development, and potential novel treatment approaches.

We welcome submissions from cancer immunology research fields, including basic science, translational research, and clinical investigations. We are interested in Original Research, Clinical Trial, Case Report, Brief Research Report, and Review articles, focusing on, but not limited to, the following areas:

• Predictive biomarkers of immunotherapy toxicity
• Biomarkers of steroid resistance in irAEs
• Biomarkers for non-specific and organ-specific irAEs
• Auto-antibody signatures for immunotoxicity
• Circulating biomarkers
• Gene signatures for irAEs
• Cellular biomarkers associated with increased risk of irAEs

Manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by robust and relevant validation (clinical cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) are out of scope for this topic.

Keywords: Immune checkpoint inhibitors, Immune related adverse events, biomarkers, immunotherapy toxicity, immune monitoring, irAEs

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.

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