Early Phase Clinical Trials for the Development of Novel Immunotherapeutic Anti-cancer Agents

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About this Research Topic

Submission deadlines

  1. Manuscript Summary Submission Deadline 14 January 2025 | Manuscript Submission Deadline 4 May 2025

  2. This Research Topic is still accepting articles.

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Background

In the dynamic landscape of oncology, drug development presents towering challenges. Historically marked by high attrition rates and decidedly low approval rates for novel therapies, this sphere demands revolutionary approaches to enhance treatment paradigms. The introduction of targeted agents and advanced immunotherapeutic strategies has significantly altered the design and goals of early-phase clinical trials. These studies have transitioned from primarily assessing safety to incorporating complex efficacy endpoints. Crucially, there is an urgent need for specialized prognostic scoring systems that address patient outcomes specifically in trials deploying new immunotherapeutic agents. These scoring systems are crucial for determining the suitability of patients for trial recruitment. Furthermore, emerging immunotherapeutic modalities such as bispecific antibodies, T-cell engagers, cancer vaccines, and CAR T-cell therapies, often in combination with immune-checkpoint inhibitors, introduce complex adverse events. These scenarios require uniquely tailored management strategies and flexible trial designs to account for variables like late-onset toxicities and interim dose adjustments based on evolving toxicity data.

This Research Topic aims to deepen our understanding of recent innovations in early-phase clinical trials for novel immunotherapeutic agents in oncology. Our objectives are to refine trial designs for greater efficacy in the drug development process, optimize patient selection strategies at the onset of studies to enhance therapeutic potential, implement pharmacodynamics markers for new anti-cancer immunotherapies, and develop expertise in managing the adverse events associated with next-generation immunotherapeutic agents.

To further this knowledge, we invite contributions that explore a wide range of themes pertinent to this field, including but not limited to:
- Case Reports that detail unique toxicities and their management techniques when employing new immunotherapeutic modalities.
- Review Articles that provide up-to-date, precise analyses of progresses in early-phase immunotherapeutic drug development, highlighting gaps, controversies, and offering new perspectives and critiques.
- Original Research Articles that describe clinical trials in the initial stages of developing novel immunotherapeutic anti-cancer agents, particularly those examining individual variances in toxicity or response rates, such as predictive biomarkers.

Topic Editor Dr. Maria Vieito is on the Advisory Board for BMS and Speaker's Bureau for Novocure. Dr. Vieito has also received financial support from AstraZeneca, BeiGene, C4 Therapeutics, Novartis, Roche, Taiho Oncology and Thermo Fisher. Topic Editor Dr. Matteo Simonelli is on the Advisory Board for Servier, Incyte, GSK and BMS and is responsible for Data Safety Monitoring for Sanofy. The other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject.

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
  • Editorial
  • General Commentary
  • Hypothesis and Theory
  • Methods
  • Mini Review

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
  • Editorial
  • General Commentary
  • Hypothesis and Theory
  • Methods
  • Mini Review
  • Opinion
  • Original Research
  • Perspective
  • Review
  • Study Protocol
  • Systematic Review
  • Technology and Code

Keywords: Novel immunotherapeutic agents, Bispecific antibodies, ADCs, Bispecific ADCs, T-cell engager, Vaccination, CAR T-cell therapy, Immune-related adverse events, Early phase clinical trials, Trial design

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

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