Spatial, Bulk, and Cell-Type-Related Transcriptomics in Cancer Research

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Methods and Technologies Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2025 | Viewed by 555

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Interests: translational genomics and transcriptomics; mRNA/miRNA expression; DNA–protein interaction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Qingdao Central Hospital, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Medical College of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
Interests: cancer biomarker; genetics; diabetes; ophthalmology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Subgroup of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, Brussels, Belgium
2. Group for Genomic Analysis of Cell Signaling Systems, Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, 117997 Moscow, Russia
3. Institute of Personalized Medicine, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, 119991 Moscow, Russia
4. Omicsway Corp., Walnut, CA 91789, USA
Interests: systems biology; omics molecular medicine; personalized oncology; molecular diagnostics of cancer; targeted therapy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The field of transcriptomics in cancer research is developing at a tremendous pace and is crucial to our understanding of gene activity and regulation in various healthy and pathologic conditions. Current transcriptomic approaches based on bulk, single-cell and spatial RNA sequencing can be complemented by multi-level bioinformatics analysis to provide a complete picture of an individual tumor. Tumor heterogeneity, cell populations, tumor–stromal-cell interactions, and overall gene expression can now be examined. Each type of analysis has its own unique advantages and pitfalls, and the proper use and combination of these techniques can provide a comprehensive picture of cancer. Most importantly, the accumulated transcriptomic data can be used to improve current clinical practice by, for example, applying new biomarkers and guiding personalized treatment.

We are pleased to invite you to submit manuscripts to this Special Issue that contribute to our understanding of tumor biology, pathophysiology, and drug sensitivity using modern transcriptomics.

Submissions of original research articles and reviews are welcome for this Special Issue. We intend to focus on the following topics:

  1. Methodological advances in transcriptomics for cancer research;
  2. What modern transcriptomics has to offer to clinical oncologists;
  3. Recent advances in single-cell, spatial, and bulk RNA sequencing of cancers;
  4. Significant new discoveries in cancer biology using the above methods;
  5. Useful bioinformatics tools that can equip us with new techniques to effectively study and fight cancer.

We welcome experimental, bioinformatic, and hybrid manuscripts. For purely bioinformatic studies to be considered, they should be well validated, have methodological novelty, or provide novel data analysis.

Manuscripts based solely on the analysis of known public datasets using known computational tools will not be considered.

Prof. Dr. Xinmin Li
Prof. Dr. Ye Wang
Prof. Dr. Anton Buzdin
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • translational transcriptomics
  • cancer research
  • spatial transcriptomics
  • drug sensitivity and responsiveness
  • immune checkpoint inhibitors
  • targeted drugs
  • chemotherapy
  • radiation therapy
  • cell-based therapy
  • anticancer vaccines

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Review

26 pages, 2978 KiB  
Review
Scoping Review: Methods and Applications of Spatial Transcriptomics in Tumor Research
by Kacper Maciejewski and Patrycja Czerwinska
Cancers 2024, 16(17), 3100; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers16173100 - 6 Sep 2024
Viewed by 438
Abstract
Spatial transcriptomics (ST) examines gene expression within its spatial context on tissue, linking morphology and function. Advances in ST resolution and throughput have led to an increase in scientific interest, notably in cancer research. This scoping study reviews the challenges and practical applications [...] Read more.
Spatial transcriptomics (ST) examines gene expression within its spatial context on tissue, linking morphology and function. Advances in ST resolution and throughput have led to an increase in scientific interest, notably in cancer research. This scoping study reviews the challenges and practical applications of ST, summarizing current methods, trends, and data analysis techniques for ST in neoplasm research. We analyzed 41 articles published by the end of 2023 alongside public data repositories. The findings indicate cancer biology is an important focus of ST research, with a rising number of studies each year. Visium (10x Genomics, Pleasanton, CA, USA) is the leading ST platform, and SCTransform from Seurat R library is the preferred method for data normalization and integration. Many studies incorporate additional data types like single-cell sequencing and immunohistochemistry. Common ST applications include discovering the composition and function of tumor tissues in the context of their heterogeneity, characterizing the tumor microenvironment, or identifying interactions between cells, including spatial patterns of expression and co-occurrence. However, nearly half of the studies lacked comprehensive data processing protocols, hindering their reproducibility. By recommending greater transparency in sharing analysis methods and adapting single-cell analysis techniques with caution, this review aims to improve the reproducibility and reliability of future studies in cancer research. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop