About this Research Topic
The immune/tumor microenvironment significantly influences cancer progression and the efficacy of immunotherapeutic approaches, serving as a complex interface where cancer cells and the host's immune system interact. Advances in immunotherapy have underscored the critical need for a comprehensive understanding of this environment to optimally harness the immune response to inhibit cancer progression and enhance treatment. Although cancer immunotherapy has advanced, its full potential remains untapped, partly because of our limited understanding of this intricate biological interface. In this regard, technologies for visualizing or sensing the immune/tumor microenvironment can play a critical role, providing real-time understanding of these biological events within a physiological context. Through the detailed observation of the spatial and temporal dynamics of immune cells and cancer cells within the tumor microenvironment, research efforts are directed towards better understanding of the biological processes and enhancing the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapies.
This Research Topic addresses the urgent need to enhance the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy by utilizing advanced imaging and/or developing biosensors to visualize/recapitulate the immune/tumor microenvironment, both in vitro and in vivo. The interaction between cancer cells and the immune system within this environment is crucial for determining cancer progression and the effectiveness of immunotherapy. Biomedical engineering tools including imaging technologies and/or biosensors provide a viable solution, allowing for the real-time observation of immune and cancer cell interactions. Concentrating on recent advancements in imaging and biomedical technologies and their use in detailing the spatial and temporal dynamics of the immune/tumor microenvironment, our goal is to showcase new insights that may lead to more successful cancer treatment methods through immunotherapy. Submissions should focus on cutting-edge research that demonstrates how visualizing and/or sensing the immune/tumor microenvironment can improve our understanding and control of the immune response in cancer, potentially driving forward innovations in cancer immunotherapy.
The scope of this Research Topic includes, but is not limited to:
• Developing imaging/sensing techniques to visualize immune and cancer cell interactions in the tumor microenvironment to improve immunotherapy efficacy
• Applying imaging/sensing to track immunotherapy effects over time, linking changes in the microenvironment to patient outcomes
• Using biomedical engineering to create in vitro tumor models for testing immunotherapies, guided by imaging/sensing
• Studying engineered immune cells’ migration and function via real-time monitoring to refine cell-based cancer immunotherapies
• Integrating imaging with genomic and proteomic data to uncover biomarkers for predicting immunotherapy success
• Employing imaging/biosensing to measure the microenvironment’s impact on immune activation and suppression
This Research Topic addresses the urgent need to enhance the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy by utilizing advanced imaging and/or developing biosensors to visualize/recapitulate the immune/tumor microenvironment, both in vitro and in vivo. The interaction between cancer cells and the immune system within this environment is crucial for determining cancer progression and the effectiveness of immunotherapy. Biomedical engineering tools including imaging technologies and/or biosensors provide a viable solution, allowing for the real-time observation of immune and cancer cell interactions. Concentrating on recent advancements in imaging and biomedical technologies and their use in detailing the spatial and temporal dynamics of the immune/tumor microenvironment, our goal is to showcase new insights that may lead to more successful cancer treatment methods through immunotherapy. Submissions should focus on cutting-edge research that demonstrates how visualizing and/or sensing the immune/tumor microenvironment can improve our understanding and control of the immune response in cancer, potentially driving forward innovations in cancer immunotherapy.
The scope of this Research Topic includes, but is not limited to:
• Developing imaging/sensing techniques to visualize immune and cancer cell interactions in the tumor microenvironment to improve immunotherapy efficacy
• Applying imaging/sensing to track immunotherapy effects over time, linking changes in the microenvironment to patient outcomes
• Using biomedical engineering to create in vitro tumor models for testing immunotherapies, guided by imaging/sensing
• Studying engineered immune cells’ migration and function via real-time monitoring to refine cell-based cancer immunotherapies
• Integrating imaging with genomic and proteomic data to uncover biomarkers for predicting immunotherapy success
• Employing imaging/biosensing to measure the microenvironment’s impact on immune activation and suppression
Keywords: Cancer immunotherapy, Tumor microenvironment, Biosensor, Monitoring tumor, Immune cell tracking, Monitoring immune responses, Theranostics
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.
