About this Research Topic
In 2023, approximately 500,000 new cases of urologic cancers (UC) originating from the kidney, renal pelvis, bladder, or prostate will be diagnosed worldwide. While the incidence rate is increasing year by year, new therapies, especially those targeting the host immune system, have been shown to have better efficacy against UC. The urological tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) consists of complex interactions between tumor cells, immune cells, and extracellular elements. Key pathways, such as PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4, play a central role in tumor growth and immune escape. Although immune cells possess anti-tumor potential, their activity is often affected by factors such as hypoxia, acidity, and immunosuppression in the TIME. For example, immunosuppressive activity driven by tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and regulatory T cells (Tregs) promotes tumor development. PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4 inhibitors as standard immunotherapeutic agents have made promising achievements and progress in the treatment of UC, but the mechanism of TIME-tumor cell interactions is complex, and the impact of TIME on immunotherapy still has huge room for exploration. In the current medical context, immunotherapy for UC does not benefit all patient populations (oligo-immune patients), and how to optimally target UC to maximize the activation of tumor immune responses or find new immunotherapy breakthroughs is a challenge that needs to be solved. In addition, with the gradual application of artificial intelligence and large language models in the medical field, breaking the inherent medical research exploration mode, new ideas and possibilities are provided for solving the above contradictions and problems.
The aim of this research topic is to provide a platform to advance immunotherapeutic research in UC and to be used to uncover potential tumor immune mechanisms and molecular targets, personalized therapeutic approaches that can be potentiated, and possible clinical translational approaches.
We welcome submissions of original research articles, reviews, systematic evaluations, commentaries, and opinion pieces, including but not limited to the following topics:
1. Visualization of the immune microenvironment, and functional elaboration of key targets or molecules in urological tumors, including renal, uroepithelial, and prostate cancers;
2. Optimization, enhancement strategies, and potential clinical translational applications of new immunotherapeutic regimens or traditional immunotherapeutic modalities;
3. Exploration of the prospects and applications of artificial intelligence and large language models for current urological cancer diagnosis and treatment;
4. Impact of metabolic reprogramming of urological tumors on the immune microenvironment, traditional immunotherapy regimens, and potential mechanistic studies;
The aim of this research topic is to provide a platform to advance immunotherapeutic research in UC and to be used to uncover potential tumor immune mechanisms and molecular targets, personalized therapeutic approaches that can be potentiated, and possible clinical translational approaches.
We welcome submissions of original research articles, reviews, systematic evaluations, commentaries, and opinion pieces, including but not limited to the following topics:
1. Visualization of the immune microenvironment, and functional elaboration of key targets or molecules in urological tumors, including renal, uroepithelial, and prostate cancers;
2. Optimization, enhancement strategies, and potential clinical translational applications of new immunotherapeutic regimens or traditional immunotherapeutic modalities;
3. Exploration of the prospects and applications of artificial intelligence and large language models for current urological cancer diagnosis and treatment;
4. Impact of metabolic reprogramming of urological tumors on the immune microenvironment, traditional immunotherapy regimens, and potential mechanistic studies;
Keywords: urological cancer
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.
