Precision Therapeutics in Rare Cancers: Targeting Tumor Microenvironment and Biomarker-Driven Approaches

  • 760

    Total downloads

  • 3,122

    Total views and downloads

Submit your idea

Select the journal/section where you want your idea to be submitted:

Submit your manuscript summarySubmit your manuscript

About this Research Topic

Submission deadlines

  1. Manuscript Submission Deadline 28 September 2024

Background

The field of precision therapeutics for rare cancers is currently facing significant challenges due to the low number of patients, disease heterogeneity, and a lack of preclinical data supporting the use of immune drugs. While immune checkpoint blockade therapies targeting PD1, PD-L1, and CTLA-4 have transformed the treatment landscape for common cancers like melanoma and non-small-cell lung cancer, and CAR-T cells have shown remarkable success in hematologic malignancies, these advancements have not been adequately extended to rare tumors. The burgeoning portfolio of potential therapeutic targets, including vaccines, modified T-cells, NK-cells, novel immune checkpoint blockers, cytokine therapies, and intra-tumoral therapies, underscores the need for a strategic approach in selecting the appropriate drug and target for each rare cancer subtype. This is crucial for improving patient care, as individuals with rare cancers constitute 25-30% of the cancer population, representing a critical unmet need. Despite the growing pipeline, there remains a gap in translating these innovations into effective treatments for rare cancers, necessitating further investigation and development.

This research topic aims to consolidate and evaluate the pre-clinical, translational, and clinical data supporting the use of novel therapies for rare cancers. The focus will be on understanding the tumor microenvironment of each rare cancer entity, exploring translational research of drugs in the development pipeline, and identifying subgroups of tumors or novel biomarkers that predict response to therapeutic strategies with a strong biological rationale. A particular emphasis will be placed on the rationale for employing immunotherapies in the treatment of rare cancers, aiming to bridge the gap between existing knowledge and clinical application.

To gather further insights in the realm of precision therapeutics for rare cancers, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
- Rare Cancers:
- Sarcomas
- Neuro-oncology
- Head and Neck Tumors
- Mesothelioma
- Thymic Tumors
- Rare gynecologic and breast tumors
- Peritoneal Malignancies
- Anal Cancers
- Hematologic malignancies
- Immune Therapies:
- Novel Immune checkpoint blockers
- Combination therapies with standard-of-care treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or tyrosine kinase inhibitors
- Intra-tumoral treatment
- Novel Cytokines
- Modified T-cell or NK-cell therapies and CAR-T cells/ CAR-NK cells

Please note that manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases, without robust and relevant validation, are out of scope for this topic.

Note that Topic Editor Dr. Takahiro Tsujikawa is a paid consultant for Merck Biopharma and Rakuten Medical and receives speaker fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck Biopharma, Eisai Co., Ltd., Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp, Ono Pharmaceutical, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Factory, and Rakuten Medical. Additionally, 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.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

  • Brief Research Report
  • Case Report
  • Classification
  • Clinical Trial
  • Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
  • Editorial
  • General Commentary
  • Hypothesis and Theory
  • Methods

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

  • Brief Research Report
  • Case Report
  • Classification
  • Clinical Trial
  • Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
  • Editorial
  • General Commentary
  • Hypothesis and Theory
  • Methods
  • Mini Review
  • Opinion
  • Original Research
  • Perspective
  • Review
  • Study Protocol
  • Systematic Review
  • Technology and Code

Keywords: Rare Cancers, Immunotherapy, Early Drug Development, Immune Checkpoint Blockers, Sarcoma, Biomarkers

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.

Topic editors

Topic coordinators

Frequently asked questions

  • Frontiers' Research Topics are collaborative hubs built around an emerging theme.Defined, managed, and led by renowned researchers, they bring communities together around a shared area of interest to stimulate collaboration and innovation.

    Unlike section journals, which serve established specialty communities, Research Topics are pioneer hubs, responding to the evolving scientific landscape and catering to new communities.

  • The goal of Frontiers' publishing program is to empower research communities to actively steer the course of scientific publishing. Our program was implemented as a three-part unit with fixed field journals, flexible specialty sections, and dynamically emerging Research Topics, connecting communities of different sizes and maturity.

    Research Topics originate from the scientific community. Many of our Research Topics are suggested by existing editorial board members who have identified critical challenges or areas of interest in their field.

  • As an editor, Research Topics will help you build your journal, as well as your community, around emerging, cutting-edge research. As research trailblazers, Research Topics attract high-quality submissions from leading experts all over the world.

    A thriving Research Topic can potentially evolve into a new specialty section if there is sustained interest and a growing community around it.

  • Each Research Topic must be approved by the specialty chief editor, and it falls under the editorial oversight of our editorial boards, supported by our in-house research integrity team. The same standards and rigorous peer review processes apply to articles published as part of a Research Topic as for any other article we publish.

    In 2023, 80% of the Research Topics we published were edited or co-edited by our editorial board members, who are already familiar with their journal's scope, ethos, and publishing model. All other topics are guest edited by leaders in their field, each vetted and formally approved by the specialty chief editor.

  • Publishing your article within a Research Topic with other related articles increases its discoverability and visibility, which can lead to more views, downloads, and citations. Research Topics grow dynamically as more published articles are added, causing frequent revisiting, and further visibility.

    As Research Topics are multidisciplinary, they are cross-listed in several fields and section journals – increasing your reach even more and giving you the chance to expand your network and collaborate with researchers in different fields, all focusing on expanding knowledge around the same important topic.

    Our larger Research Topics are also converted into ebooks and receive social media promotion from our digital marketing team.

     

  • Frontiers offers multiple article types, but it will depend on the field and section journals in which the Research Topic will be featured. The available article types for a Research Topic will appear in the drop-down menu during the submission process.

    Check available article types here 

  • Yes, we would love to hear your ideas for a topic. Most of our Research Topics are community-led and suggested by researchers in the field. Our in-house editorial team will contact you to talk about your idea and whether you’d like to edit the topic. If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. 

    Suggest your topic here 

  • A team of guest editors (called topic editors) lead their Research Topic. This editorial team oversees the entire process, from the initial topic proposal to calls for participation, the peer review, and final publications.

    The team may also include topic coordinators, who help the topic editors send calls for participation, liaise with topic editors on abstracts, and support contributing authors. In some cases, they can also be assigned as reviewers.

  • As a topic editor (TE), you will take the lead on all editorial decisions for the Research Topic, starting with defining its scope. This allows you to curate research around a topic that interests you, bring together different perspectives from leading researchers across different fields and shape the future of your field. 

     

    You will choose your team of co-editors, curate a list of potential authors, send calls for participation and oversee the peer review process, accepting or recommending rejection for each manuscript submitted.

  • As a topic editor, you're supported at every stage by our in-house team. You will be assigned a single point of contact to help you on both editorial and technical matters. Your topic is managed through our user-friendly online platform, and the peer review process is supported by our industry-first AI review assistant (AIRA).

  • If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. This provides you with valuable editorial experience, improving your ability to critically evaluate research articles and enhancing your understanding of the quality standards and requirements for scientific publishing, as well as the opportunity to discover new research in your field, and expand your professional network.

  • Yes, certificates can be issued on request. We are happy to provide a certificate for your contribution to editing a successful Research Topic.

  • Research Topics thrive on collaboration and their multi-disciplinary approach around emerging, cutting-edge themes, attract leading researchers from all over the world.

  • As a topic editor, you can set the timeline for your Research Topic, and we will work with you at your pace. Typically, Research Topics are online and open for submissions within a few weeks and remain open for participation for 6 – 12 months. Individual articles within a Research Topic are published as soon as they are ready.

    Find out more about our Research Topics

  • Our fee support program ensures that all articles that pass peer review, including those published in Research Topics, can benefit from open access – regardless of the author's field or funding situation.

    Authors and institutions with insufficient funding can apply for a discount on their publishing fees. A fee support application form is available on our website.

  • In line with our mission to promote healthy lives on a healthy planet, we do not provide printed materials. All our articles and ebooks are available under a CC-BY license, so you can share and print copies.

     

Participating Journals

Manuscripts can be submitted to this Research Topic via the main journal or any other participating journal.

Submit your idea

Select the journal/section where you want your idea to be submitted:

Submit your manuscript summarySubmit your manuscript

Impact

  • 3,122Topic views
  • 1,736Article views
  • 760Article downloads
View impact