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Exploring the Intersection of Cancer Metabolism and Immunotherapy
Editor: Lei Huang and Mengdie Feng

Submission Deadline: 31 July 2025 (Status: Open)


Special Issue Editor(s)


Prof. Lei Huang      Email   |   Website
Department of Molecular Cell and Cancer Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
Interests: cell metabolism; cancer biology; obesity; diabetes; cell apoptosis; cancer therapy; cell signaling; mitochondrial function; aging; metastasis; invasion; EMT; TME



Prof. Mengdie Feng      Email   |   Website
Nakada Lab, Baylor college ofMedicine, Houston, TX, USA
Interests: human molecular; genetic


Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cancer metabolism is characterized by altered energy production pathways that support the rapid growth and survival of tumor cells. Unlike normal cells, cancer cells often rely on aerobic glycolysis, known as the Warburg effect, even in the presence of oxygen. This metabolic reprogramming enables cancer cells to sustain their growth under nutrient-limited conditions. Recent studies have shown that these metabolic changes also profoundly affect the tumor microenvironment, particularly in shaping immune cell function. Immunotherapy, a groundbreaking approach to cancer treatment, enhances the body’s immune system to target and eliminate cancer cells. However, the efficacy of immunotherapy is often limited by the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, where cancer cells alter the metabolism of immune cells, leading to immune exhaustion and resistance to treatment. This proposal aims to investigate how the unique metabolic pathways in cancer cells influence the effectiveness of immunotherapy. By understanding the metabolic crosstalk between tumor cells and immune cells, this topic seeks to identify potential metabolic targets that could be modulated to improve the success of immunotherapies, such as checkpoint inhibitors and CAR-T cell therapy.

Key Questions

1. How does cancer metabolism contribute to the immune escape mechanisms in the tumor microenvironment?

2. Can metabolic reprogramming of immune cells enhance their anti-tumor activity during immunotherapy?

3. What metabolic targets can be identified to synergize with existing immunotherapies for improved outcomes?

Prof. Lei Huang and Prof. Mengdie Feng
Guest Editors


Keywords

cancer metabolism; immunotherapy; checkpoint; tumor microenvironment; immune cells; metabolic targets; multi-omics


Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted via our online editorial system at https://www.discovmed.com/Journalx_dm/authorLogOn.action by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to start your submission. Manuscripts can be submitted now or up until the deadline. All papers will go through peer-review process. Accepted papers will be published in the journal (as soon as accepted) and meanwhile listed together on the special issue website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts will be thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. Please visit the Instruction for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. Submitted manuscripts should be well formatted in good English.

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