Advances in Cancer Therapy: Experimental Approaches, Therapeutic Development, and Clinical Translation

TOPICAL COLLECTIONS

Guest Editor

Ihtisham Bukhari

Henan Academy of Innovations in Medical Sciences

Dr. Ihtisham Bukhari is an associate professor at the Henan Academy of Innovations in Medical Sciences, an affiliated institute of Zhengzhou University, and serves as a principal investigator at the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University and a distinguished professor at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University. He previously served as an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry at King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. He obtained his PhD in biology (genetics) from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2015 and completed postdoctoral training in cancer biology and molecular biology at Henan University.His research focuses on the regulatory roles of noncoding RNAs, particularly lncRNAs, in gastric cancer, as well as the relationships between Helicobacter pylori infection and cancer progression using gastric organoids, primary gastric cells, and cancer cell lines. He has also investigated mitochondrial integrity in drug resistance and cell death. His broader research includes the molecular and genetic basis of reproductive, congenital, and metabolic disorders. Dr. Bukhari has published more than 70 research articles in leading journals.

Collection Overview

Cancer is a highly heterogeneous and dynamic disease driven by diverse genetic, epigenetic, transcriptional, proteomic, and immune alterations. Understanding these molecular and cellular features is essential for moving beyond conventional histology-based treatment toward precision cancer therapy, in which therapeutic strategies are tailored to the specific biological characteristics of individual tumors. Rapid advances in molecular profiling, tumor modeling, targeted therapies, and cancer immunotherapy, including CAR-T cells and other engineered immune-cell approaches, are reshaping cancer treatment and creating new opportunities to overcome therapeutic resistance and improve patient outcomes.

This collection will highlight recent advances in precision cancer treatment and immunotherapy, with particular emphasis on experimental approaches used to identify therapeutic targets, evaluate treatment responses, investigate mechanisms of drug resistance, and develop innovative therapeutic strategies. Topics will include genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and immunological approaches for tumor classification; biomarker discovery and validation; targeted and personalized therapies; anticancer drug development and combination therapies; tumor–immune interactions and the tumor microenvironment; CAR-T and other immune-based therapies; and experimental models for evaluating therapeutic efficacy and resistance. By bringing together reproducible and visually demonstrated experimental approaches alongside emerging therapeutic concepts, this collection will provide researchers with practical resources to investigate cancer mechanisms, develop novel treatments, and advance precision oncology and immunotherapy.