The Role of Hedgehog Pathway in Cancer

Dear Colleagues,

Aberrant activation of the Hedgehog pathway is implicated in the development of a variety of tumors, including medulloblastoma, glioblastoma, breast, colon, skin cancers, and hematological malignancies. As a result, the Hedgehog pathway represents an attractive therapeutic target for cancer treatment. Although drugs targeting this pathway have produced promising clinical results and have been approved for basal cell carcinoma (BCC), they have so far demonstrated limited clinical efficacy against most cancer types. Therefore, we need to deepen our understanding of how the Hedgehog pathway functions during tumor development and progression and how it interacts with other signaling pathways.

In this Special Issue, we will collect original articles and reviews that provide new insights into Hedgehog signaling in cancer, including, but not limited to mechanisms of canonical and non-canonical activation; regulation of GLI transcription factors; function of the Hedgehog pathway in cancer cells stemness, cancer metabolism, and metastasis; the role of Hedgehog signaling in the tumor microenvironment; miRNA and Hedgehog signaling; novel strategies to inhibit Hedgehog signaling; mechanism of resistance to Hedgehog-targeted therapy; and approaches to overcoming this resistance. With this Special Issue, we aim to provide basic and translational researchers with an overview of breakthroughs of Hedgehog signaling in cancer.

Prof. Enrico De Smaele
Dr. Barbara Stecca
Guest Editors

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