Treating the Cancer Matrix: Progress in the Identification of Potential Therapeutic Targets
A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Therapy".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2021) | Viewed by 36597
Special Issue Editors
Interests: liver metastasis; extracellular matrix; colorectal cancer; tumour microenvironment
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The extracellular matrix (ECM) plays an increasingly recognised role in the development and progression of cancer. From a functional aspect, the ECM is emerging as a master regulator of the malignant phenotype with roles in cellular metabolism, maintenance of stemness, promotion of angiogenesis and regulation of immune cell trafficking. Cancers over-expressing stromal genes, primarily consisting of those encoding ECM proteins, display a particularly poor prognosis with a propensity to metastasis and therapy resistance.
However, the extracellular matrix is a highly complex, macromolecular substance. Alteration in the abundance of specific proteins, ECM gene splice variation, protein crosslinking and post-translational modification all have implications for ECM function in cancer. This complexity has led to difficulties in predicting the functional consequence of targeting specific ECM proteins and ultimately a lack of therapies with which to manipulate the cancer ECM.
Proteomics, single-cell transcriptomics and multiplexed immunohistochemical methods have greatly advanced our understanding of cancer ECM complexity. This Special Issue will bring together exciting new developments that uncover potential therapeutic targets within the ECM or enhance our knowledge of the mechanisms through which specific ECM proteins regulate the cancer microenvironment.
Dr. Alex Gordon-Weeks
Dr. Arseniy E. Yuzhalin
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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