About this Research Topic
Multidrug resistance and metastasis are the main adverse effects following clinical treatment of cancer, while the tumor microenvironment and tumor heterogeneity associated with signaling pathway alterations and mutations are the key reasons for the above failure. In the process of tumorigenesis, chromosomal changes, gene mutations, and genomic instability of cells will lead to tumor heterogeneity and drug resistance requiring more personalized models of the therapy response to find effective treatment. Additionally, changes in the tumor microenvironment such as tissue hypoxia, proliferation of cancer-associated fibroblasts, increased fibrosis, cancer stem cell niche protection, alterations to the tumor immune microenvironment, and others are all closely related to tumor development, invasion, drug resistance, and metastasis. Therefore, targeting the tumor microenvironment and developing better models to do so is an important focus of current oncology research.
The aim of this topic is to highlight pre-clinical and clinical advances that allow us to better understand the influence of the microenvironment on gastrointestinal tract cancer development, progression, and response to therapy. In recent years, a variety of breakthroughs in ex vivo culturing techniques (e.g. organoid and co-culturing technologies), sequencing (e.g. single-cell RNA-Seq), microscopy, bioinformatics, and other technologies are rapidly improving our knowledge of the homeostatic, pre-cancerous, and cancerous microenvironments associated with tumors of the gastrointestinal tracts. New diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic strategies will be greatly improved by the use of emerging technologies and an improved understanding of the pre-cancerous and cancerous microenvironment.
Topics of interest include but are not limited to:
• The role of specialized epithelial cell types (e.g. tuft cells, goblet cells, stem cells) in the response to anti-cancer therapies and immunotherapy
• The role of paracrine and endocrine signaling between diverse cellular compartments in GI cancer progression
• Influence of the gut on the dissemination and colonization of metastatic cells
• Identification of GI tumor subtypes and biomarkers predictive of the response to therapy
• Tumor microenvironmental differences based on relevant demographic factors (e.g. gender, race) and influencing treatment response and patient outcomes
• GI cancer organoid and co-culture studies focused on mechanisms of the tumor microenvironment
• The use of GI cancer organoids to model the patient response to therapy
• Novel targeted therapies that can influence the tumor microenvironment, cancer stem cells, or immune infiltration
The aim of this topic is to highlight pre-clinical and clinical advances that allow us to better understand the influence of the microenvironment on gastrointestinal tract cancer development, progression, and response to therapy. In recent years, a variety of breakthroughs in ex vivo culturing techniques (e.g. organoid and co-culturing technologies), sequencing (e.g. single-cell RNA-Seq), microscopy, bioinformatics, and other technologies are rapidly improving our knowledge of the homeostatic, pre-cancerous, and cancerous microenvironments associated with tumors of the gastrointestinal tracts. New diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic strategies will be greatly improved by the use of emerging technologies and an improved understanding of the pre-cancerous and cancerous microenvironment.
Topics of interest include but are not limited to:
• The role of specialized epithelial cell types (e.g. tuft cells, goblet cells, stem cells) in the response to anti-cancer therapies and immunotherapy
• The role of paracrine and endocrine signaling between diverse cellular compartments in GI cancer progression
• Influence of the gut on the dissemination and colonization of metastatic cells
• Identification of GI tumor subtypes and biomarkers predictive of the response to therapy
• Tumor microenvironmental differences based on relevant demographic factors (e.g. gender, race) and influencing treatment response and patient outcomes
• GI cancer organoid and co-culture studies focused on mechanisms of the tumor microenvironment
• The use of GI cancer organoids to model the patient response to therapy
• Novel targeted therapies that can influence the tumor microenvironment, cancer stem cells, or immune infiltration
Keywords: cancer stem cells, immunotherapy, patient-derived organoids, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, molecular mechanisms, therapeutic targets, novel drugs
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.
