In recent years, immunotherapy capable of enhancing the host immune response against tumors has emerged as a promising approach in cancer treatment. Key factors in immunotherapy success rely on its' ability to reverse tumor-mediated immunosuppression, and to provide a long-term immunological memory, preventing tumour recurrence. Various signaling pathways are known to play a crucial role in cancer progression by inducing different immunosuppressive cascades, and thus are the main drivers in tumor immune escape - making appealing targets for cancer treatment. Although an increasing number of immunotherapeutic approaches have demonstrated significant tolerability in clinical trials, they have proved to be ineffective as monotherapy, while also triggering unexpected long-term immune-related adverse events, owing to the uncontrolled tissue accumulation and constitutive bioactivity. Emerging evidence suggests that the combination of immunotherapy with other immune adjuvant methodologies (e.g., chemo-, radio-, sono-, photodynamic, and photothermal therapies) allows for a significantly enhanced antitumor effect.Small molecule drugs or molecular conjugates capable of targeting defined pathways involved in the immune modulation are expected to substantially improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy, alone or in combination with other therapeutic approaches. Furthermore, chemical knowledge in the design, synthesis, and characterization of drug delivery systems will be essential for designing safe, stable, biocompatible, and targeted drugs formulations for safer and more effective tumor treatments. The present Research Topic aims to provide a critical analysis of present and future trends in multimodal cancer immunotherapy, spanning modern chemical research. Each article should illustrate the most significant developments of recent years, including relevant data and innovative methodologies, as well as discussion about combination strategies for enhancing the immune response from a chemistry perspective. Based on the emerging interest in cancer immunotherapy, we encourage submissions that tackle the most innovative and recent discoveries in this field. We welcome Reviews, Original Research, and Mini Reviews on: • Design and synthesis of small molecules targeting checkpoint pathways (PD-1, PD-L1, CTLA4, IDO1, AhR, etc.) • Development and characterization of novel Immunogenic Cell Death inducers • Design, preparation, and characterization of delivery systems targeting the tumor microenvironment • Discovery of novel molecular cancer targets and drug candidates involved in the immunological response • Development of novel molecular conjugates
In recent years, immunotherapy capable of enhancing the host immune response against tumors has emerged as a promising approach in cancer treatment. Key factors in immunotherapy success rely on its' ability to reverse tumor-mediated immunosuppression, and to provide a long-term immunological memory, preventing tumour recurrence. Various signaling pathways are known to play a crucial role in cancer progression by inducing different immunosuppressive cascades, and thus are the main drivers in tumor immune escape - making appealing targets for cancer treatment. Although an increasing number of immunotherapeutic approaches have demonstrated significant tolerability in clinical trials, they have proved to be ineffective as monotherapy, while also triggering unexpected long-term immune-related adverse events, owing to the uncontrolled tissue accumulation and constitutive bioactivity. Emerging evidence suggests that the combination of immunotherapy with other immune adjuvant methodologies (e.g., chemo-, radio-, sono-, photodynamic, and photothermal therapies) allows for a significantly enhanced antitumor effect.Small molecule drugs or molecular conjugates capable of targeting defined pathways involved in the immune modulation are expected to substantially improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy, alone or in combination with other therapeutic approaches. Furthermore, chemical knowledge in the design, synthesis, and characterization of drug delivery systems will be essential for designing safe, stable, biocompatible, and targeted drugs formulations for safer and more effective tumor treatments. The present Research Topic aims to provide a critical analysis of present and future trends in multimodal cancer immunotherapy, spanning modern chemical research. Each article should illustrate the most significant developments of recent years, including relevant data and innovative methodologies, as well as discussion about combination strategies for enhancing the immune response from a chemistry perspective. Based on the emerging interest in cancer immunotherapy, we encourage submissions that tackle the most innovative and recent discoveries in this field. We welcome Reviews, Original Research, and Mini Reviews on: • Design and synthesis of small molecules targeting checkpoint pathways (PD-1, PD-L1, CTLA4, IDO1, AhR, etc.) • Development and characterization of novel Immunogenic Cell Death inducers • Design, preparation, and characterization of delivery systems targeting the tumor microenvironment • Discovery of novel molecular cancer targets and drug candidates involved in the immunological response • Development of novel molecular conjugates