Metastasis is responsible for approximately 90% of cancer deaths, yet the molecular mechanisms by which this occurs remain not well understood. Over the past two decades, many targeted therapies have been approved for the treatment of metastatic cancer. Although targeted cancer therapy may elicit significant and sometimes dramatic tumor regression, the responses are generally short lived due to a variety of drug resistance mechanisms. Among these, an emerging and increasingly recognized mechanism is called lineage plasticity, the ability of cells to change from one committed developmental pathway to another. However, the mechanistic relationship between targeted therapies and tumor cell plasticity remains largely unknown.
Despite advances in cancer treatment, metastatic cancer remains largely incurable and is associated with relatively short survival and reduced quality of life. A key barrier to improving the clinical outcomes of cancer patients is our inadequate understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer metastasis and lineage plasticity. The goal of this special issue is to shorten this knowledge gap by soliciting research and review articles on cell signaling mechanisms underpinning cancer metastasis and lineage plasticity. Druggable cell signaling mechanisms that can be translated into the clinic in the near future will be given priority.
We welcome submissions of all article types concerning, but not limited to, the following research areas:
• Cell signaling in cancer cell migration and invasion
• Cell signaling in metastatic growth and dormancy
• Cell signaling shared by embryogenesis and cancer metastasis
• Cell signaling in immune evasion of metastatic cancer
• Cell signaling in tumor microenvironment of metastatic cancer
• Cell signaling in lineage plasticity
• Cell signaling in metastatic cancer resistance to drug treatment
Metastasis is responsible for approximately 90% of cancer deaths, yet the molecular mechanisms by which this occurs remain not well understood. Over the past two decades, many targeted therapies have been approved for the treatment of metastatic cancer. Although targeted cancer therapy may elicit significant and sometimes dramatic tumor regression, the responses are generally short lived due to a variety of drug resistance mechanisms. Among these, an emerging and increasingly recognized mechanism is called lineage plasticity, the ability of cells to change from one committed developmental pathway to another. However, the mechanistic relationship between targeted therapies and tumor cell plasticity remains largely unknown.
Despite advances in cancer treatment, metastatic cancer remains largely incurable and is associated with relatively short survival and reduced quality of life. A key barrier to improving the clinical outcomes of cancer patients is our inadequate understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer metastasis and lineage plasticity. The goal of this special issue is to shorten this knowledge gap by soliciting research and review articles on cell signaling mechanisms underpinning cancer metastasis and lineage plasticity. Druggable cell signaling mechanisms that can be translated into the clinic in the near future will be given priority.
We welcome submissions of all article types concerning, but not limited to, the following research areas:
• Cell signaling in cancer cell migration and invasion
• Cell signaling in metastatic growth and dormancy
• Cell signaling shared by embryogenesis and cancer metastasis
• Cell signaling in immune evasion of metastatic cancer
• Cell signaling in tumor microenvironment of metastatic cancer
• Cell signaling in lineage plasticity
• Cell signaling in metastatic cancer resistance to drug treatment
