PD-1/PD-L1 Immune Checkpoint Therapy: From Predictive Biomarkers to Noninvasive Imaging 2nd Edition
A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 April 2025 | Viewed by 100
Special Issue Editors
2. Department of Human Sciences and Promotion of the Quality of Life, San Raffaele Roma Open University, 00166 Rome, Italy
Interests: biomarker discovery; decision support systems; predictive medicine; artificial intelligence
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: biomarker discovery; cancer biomarkers; decision support Systems; predictive medicine; artificial intelligence
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: cancer chemotherapy; venous thromboembolism; decision support systems; predictive medicine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This collection is the second edition of the Special Issue "PD-1/PD-L1 Immune Checkpoint Therapy: From Predictive Biomarkers to Noninvasive Imaging" (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/cancers/special_issues/354MIMJYLQ).
It is well known that, outside of rare instances, the anti-cancer immune response is ineffectual, mostly due to the local immunosuppressive effects of the tumor itself. Among the possible mechanisms, the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and its ligand (PD-L1) are currently recognized as key molecules for tumor immune escape. Under physiological circumstances, the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway acts as an immune checkpoint for protecting normal tissues from immune self-attack by curbing the effector T-cell responses. However, tumor cells also use this checkpoint to down-regulate the T-cell effector function by expressing PD-L1. In addition to T-cells and tumor cells, PD-1 and PD-L1 are also expressed in many other cell types, including macrophages, neutrophils, and stromal cells, which pose significant implications for the role of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in the mechanisms of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor therapy.
Immunotherapy based on PD-1/PD-L1 blockade has been proposed in the past decades, and monoclonal antibodies targeting PD-1 or PD-L1 (e.g., nivolumab, pembrolizumab, and atezolizumab) have been developed and tested in clinical trials, which have confirmed their benefits in prolonging cancer patients’ survival in various settings, such as lung, gastric and breast cancer. However, the response rates of monotherapy are significantly limited in most cases, and many unanswered questions remain on the efficacy and safety of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Tailored approaches based on molecular imaging or predictive markers in immunotherapy trials also represent an unmet need to improve patient outcomes. Additional translational research on tumor tissue or liquid biopsies could significantly advance our knowledge in the field.
This Special Issue will focus on recent advances in the efficacy/safety profile of PD-1/PD-L1 blockade in cancer treatment, from biomarker-driven therapy to novel radiopharmaceuticals (immuno-PET radiotracers) and drug combinations. Evidence on the role of optimized combination detection markers to further improve the accuracy of PD-L1 in predicting the efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1 blockades and the application of artificial intelligence techniques in personalized immunotherapy will also be welcomed.
Prof. Dr. Patrizia Ferroni
Prof. Dr. Fiorella Guadagni
Prof. Dr. Mario Roselli
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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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.
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Keywords
- PD-1, PD-L1
- anti-cancer immune response
- immune checkpoint
- immunotherapy
- biomarker
- immuno-PET radiotracers
- drug combinations
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