About This Special Issue
In the last few decades treatment of cancer based on targeted and immunotherapy has been a point of great concern especially in researches and clinical trials to minimize side effects arising from chemotherapy. Targeted therapy works by targeting the cancer’s specific genes, proteins, or the tissue environment that contributes to cancer growth and survival. Moreover, it was found that targeted therapy should be tailored for each patient according to genetic basis being an integral core for precision medicine.
The decision of targeted therapy is based on either immunohistochemistry and or genetic analysis. An example of the well known applied targeted therapy include, the use of BRAF inhibitors in melanoma, Her2 blockers in breast carcinoma, cases of lung cancer with ALK and ROS gene mutations.
As for cancer stem cells, it was hypothesized that their targeting could eradicate the whole cancer. CSC surface markers provide molecular targeted therapies for various cancers, using therapeutic antibodies specific for the CSC surface markers.
Researches are now held to explore possible stem cell markers with clinical trials on the effect of their targeting.
Treatment by immunotherapy has been approved by FDA for small cells lung cancer, malignant melanoma, bladder cancer, and still researches are ongoing to detect its efficacy in other malignancies.
Immunohistochemistry is considered a simple affordable method which is used for prediction of efficacy of targeted and immunotherapy in certain malignancies.
The aim of this special issue is to include researches concerned with recent advances in the role of immunohistochemistry for targeted or immunotherapy in various tumors and whether it has prognostic value.
Aims and Scope:
- targeted therapy
- immunotherapy
- stem cell markers
- immunohistochemistry
- prognostic markers
- biomarkers