Given the success of Volume I of this Research Topic, we are pleased to announce the launch of Volume II:
Modulation of Human Immune Parameters by Anticancer Therapies .
Antibody-based therapies, cellular therapeutics (e.g. genetically modified cells, regulators of cytokine signaling and signal transduction) and further biologically tailored interventions are changing completely the treatment of malignancies, including leukemia and lymphoma. Whilst previous immunosuppressive, anti-inflammatory, or cytotoxic therapies have been shown to downregulate the immune system or to induce cytokine storms in worst case, novel therapeutics act more specific and are not well investigated by now.
Clinical studies and monitoring of patients undergoing anticancer therapies require specifically adjusted laboratory tests for follow-up of therapeutic effects, recognition and prediction of adverse effects, and understanding of cellular and physiological interactions. The immune system is a central component in this interplay. Detection of soluble mediators, cells and cellular functions by flow cytometry and functional assays, and description of specific parameters by molecular and genetic tests allow a follow-up in these patients. However, these immunological parameters are not yet well established or even standardized.
This Research Topic will provide insights into immunodiagnostic approaches, laboratory methods, typical findings, and interpretation of results in patients undergoing anticancer therapy by monoclonal antibodies, cellular products including genetically modified ones, or modulators of intracellular and cytokine signaling.
We welcome the submission of Original Research articles, Methods, Case Reports, and Perspectives covering, but not limited to, the following sub-topics:
1) Immune monitoring in tumor antigen-directed antibody therapies;
2) Immune monitoring under checkpoint inhibition;
3) Predictive biomarker assays in cancer patients undergoing immune-oncological treatment;
4) Immune profiling in patients with CAR-cell based therapies;
5) Imaging cytometry for examining immune cells and counting circulating tumor cells (CTC);
6) Validation and quality assurance of in-house cytometric tests;
7) Analysis of rare cell populations in treated cancer patients.