Cancer treatment is undergoing a major transformation driven by advances in precision oncology, in which biomarkers play a central role in guiding therapeutic innovation. Traditionally used for diagnosis and prognosis, biomarkers are now essential for predicting therapeutic response, monitoring disease progression, and identifying new drug targets. This shift is particularly important in cell therapy and immunotherapy, where outcomes depend strongly on tumor biology and host immune dynamics.
In recent years, rapid progress in multi-omics technologies (genomics, transcriptomics, epigenetics, proteomics) and immune profiling has enabled deeper characterization of tumor immunogenicity, tumor–immune interactions, and mechanisms of immune evasion and resistance. Meanwhile, immune-based strategies, including adoptive cell therapies (e.g., CAR-T, CAR-NK, and TCR-engineered cells), immune checkpoint inhibitors, and cancer vaccines have demonstrated substantial clinical potential. However, therapeutic efficacy remains heterogeneous across tumor types and individual patients, highlighting the need for robust predictive and functional biomarkers.
This Research Topic aims to compile multidisciplinary research on the role of biomarkers in directing cancer cell therapy and immunotherapy across diverse malignancies. By integrating multi-omics data with immune landscape analysis and functional validation, the objective is to advance biomarker-driven strategies that optimize treatment selection, enhance safety, and promote durable clinical responses. Ultimately, this Topic seeks to support the development of next-generation personalized cancer immunotherapies and cell-based interventions and to improve clinical outcomes for patients.
Specific areas of focus for this topic will include: • Biomarkers that inform patient stratification and predict response to immunotherapies and cell therapies • Molecular, genetic, epigenetic, proteomic, and immune biomarkers that shape tumor–immune interactions and therapeutic efficacy • Mechanistic studies on immune evasion and resistance, and biomarker-guided approaches to overcome treatment failure and enhance durable responses • Translational applications of biomarker discoveries in preclinical and clinical settings to enable personalized cancer therapy • Biomarker-guided optimization of adoptive cell therapies (including CAR-T, CAR-NK, and TCR-engineered cells), immune checkpoint inhibitors, cancer vaccines, and combination strategies • Validation of biomarkers in preclinical models and/or clinical studies with clear clinical translatability
We welcome Original Research, Reviews, Mini Reviews, Systematic Reviews, Case Reports, Perspectives, Short Communications, and Clinical Trials that provide mechanistic insights, translational relevance, and/or clinical applicability in biomarker-driven cancer cell therapy and immunotherapy.
Article types and fees
This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:
Brief Research Report
Case Report
Clinical Trial
Editorial
FAIR² Data
FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
General Commentary
Hypothesis and Theory
Methods
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Article types
This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:
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