Cell Death: A New Frontier in Cancer Research

Cancer represents one of the most complex and therapeutically challenging diseases, largely due to the critical biological events that drive the uncontrolled proliferation and metastatic dissemination of tumor cells. Central among these critical events is the dysregulation of cell death mechanisms, enabling cancer cells to evade natural elimination pathways and maintain continuous proliferation, therefore significantly promoting tumor progression. Understanding how these distinct cell death pathways are disrupted in tumors presents promising opportunities to develop innovative strategies designed to specifically and effectively eliminate malignant cells, while sparing normal tissues. While substantial progress has been made, significant knowledge gaps remain regarding each cell death type and their intricate interactions that enable cancer cell survival, resistance, or immune evasion.

This Research Topic aims to gather advanced insights into dysregulated cell death pathways in cancer and explore their potential as therapeutic targets. Specifically, it aims to elucidate mechanisms by which particular cell death pathways shape tumor behavior, progression, and response to treatment, to identify key molecular determinants driving cancer cell resistance to programmed cell death, and to define strategies for effectively targeting these molecular pathways.

Contributions addressing, but not limited to, the following themes are encouraged:

o Apoptosis: molecular mechanisms and roles in various cancers

o Necroptosis: understanding and targeting necroptosis for cancer treatment

o Ferroptosis: insights into ferroptosis-mediated cell death pathways in cancer therapy

o Autophagy: role and modulation of autophagy pathways in tumor biology

o Pyroptosis: molecular regulation and therapeutic implications in cancer

o Cuproptosis: mechanisms and therapeutic perspectives in tumor cells

o Parthanatos: parthanatos in cancer progression and responsiveness to treatment

o Innovations in leveraging diverse cell death modalities for targeted cancer therapies

Please note: studies consisting solely of bioinformatic investigation of publicly available genomic/transcriptomic/proteomic data do not fall within the scope of the section unless they are expanded and provide significant biological or mechanistic insight into the process being studied.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... View all formats

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
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: cell death, cancer, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, parthanatos, cuproptosis, autophagy, necroptosis, apoptosis

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.