Introduction
Current cancer treatment is rapidly shifting from traditional cytotoxic therapies to those based on mechanisms, precision targeting, and immune system activation. This special issue, "Translational Advances in Cancer Therapeutics: Natural Product-Derived Anticancer Agents, Engineered Cellular Immunotherapies, and Clinical Perspectives", is dedicated to delivering high-quality reviews and research on promising anticancer approaches with practical and clinical relevance. It will delve into natural product-derived agents, phytochemicals, and bioactive compounds, highlighting their roles in cancer prevention, induction of apoptosis, regulation of the cell cycle, prevention of metastasis, modification of the tumour microenvironment, and resistance to drug action. It also focuses on advances in engineered cellular immunotherapies like CAR-T cells, novel CAR designs, engineered immune cells, antigen targeting, improved CAR safety, and their application in the treatment of both blood cancers and solid tumours. The topic will be understanding of mechanisms, pharmacological development, combination therapy, biomarker-based therapy, from preclinical to clinical, challenges, and future perspectives. This collection will be a resource for researchers, clinicians, and drug developers seeking to develop safer, more targeted, and more effective cancer treatments by combining natural product-based drugs with advanced cellular immunotherapies.
Keywords
Cancer Therapeutics, Natural Products, Phytochemicals, Anticancer Agents, Cancer Chemoprevention, Engineered Cellular Immunotherapy, CAR-T Cells, Tumour Microenvironment, Drug Resistance, Precision Oncology, Translational Oncology, Clinical Perspectives
Sub-topics
- Anticancer agents from natural sources: pharmacological mechanisms, active compounds and therapeutic potential.
- Role of phytochemicals in cancer chemoprevention: apoptosis, cell-cycle arrest, oxidative stress, and regulation of inflammatory response.
- Natural compounds against anticancer drug resistance mechanisms: targeting multidrug resistance (MDR), Cancer Stem Cells, and survival pathways.
- Modulation of tumour microenvironment by natural products and immunotherapeutic approaches: impact on cancer cells, angiogenesis, metastasis, and cancer progression.
- Engineered cellular immunotherapies against cancer: recent developments in CAR-T cells, TCR-T cells, NK-cell therapies, and engineered immune-cells.
- CAR-T cell therapies: Dual-antigen targeting, safety engineering, and tumour-selective activation
- Combination cancer therapeutics: combining natural product-based agents with targeted therapy, chemotherapies, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and cellular immunotherapies
- Clinical aspects of cancer drug development: Biomarkers, pharmacokinetics, safety, translation, clinical trials, and future therapeutic opportunities.
