Guest Editors
Assoc. Prof. Mantang Qiu
Email: qiumantang@pku.edu.cn
Affiliation: Thoracic Oncology Institute/Department of
Thoracic Surgery, Peking University Peoples
Hospital, Beijing, 100044, China
Homepage:
qiumantang.html
Research Interests: Molecular oncology
Tumor microenvironment
Noncoding RNA and circular RNA
Cancer metabolism
Biomarkers and therapeutic targets
RNA-based therapeutics
Cellular signalling and disease regulation
Translational cancer research
Assoc. Prof. Yesheng Li
Email: liyc22@m.fudan.edu.cn
Affiliation: Mini-invasive Interventional Therapy Center, Shanghai
East Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University,
China
Homepage:
Research Interests: Tumor Ablation
Cellular Mechanisms
Immune Response
Pathway Modulation
Cancer Therapy
Summary
Cancer progression is driven by the ability of tumour cells to reprogram metabolic pathways and evade programmed cell death. These adaptations support rapid proliferation, stemness, therapeutic resistance, and immune escape. Metabolic rewiring—including alterations in glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation, lipid metabolism, amino acid utilization, and redox homeostasis—has emerged as a key regulator of oncogenic signalling and tumour microenvironment dynamics. Simultaneously, disruptions in programmed cell death pathways such as apoptosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, and necroptosis profoundly influence tumour survival. Growing evidence highlights the tight interconnection between these metabolic and cell-death networks in determining cancer cell fate, plasticity, and treatment response.
This Special Issue welcomes studies that advance mechanistic and translational understanding of how metabolic reprogramming and cell death regulation shape tumour biology. Topics include: molecular drivers of cancer cell fate decisions; interactions between metabolism and programmed cell death; roles of mitochondrial function, redox signalling, and tumour bioenergetics; therapeutic targeting of metabolic and cell-death pathways; and single-cell or multi-omics mapping of tumour heterogeneity. Research on metabolic plasticity of cancer stem cells and immune cells, and its impact on tumour progression and immunotherapy, is also encouraged.
Targeted diseases include major solid tumours, gynaecological and haematological cancers, paediatric tumours, and metastatic or treatment-resistant cancers.
Keywords
Cancer cell fate decision, Tumour metabolism, Metabolic reprogramming, Programmed cell death, Apoptosis and ferroptosis, Tumour microenvironment, Therapeutic resistance, Cancer stem cells, Mitochondrial dynamics, Translational oncology
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