Cancer Stem Cells and Signaling Pathways explores the mechanism of cancer stem cell signaling pathways in cancer advancement, serving as an ideal reference guide for investigators with valuable answers to problems associated with anti-cancer treatments and an understanding of the crosstalk among the signaling pathways in CSC regulation. Despite recent advances in tumor therapy and a greater understanding of their biology, tumors continue to be a prevalent and fatal worldwide. According to a novel paradigm in tumor biology, a small percentage of the cells within a tumor known as cancer stem cells (CSCs) are predicted as a crucial population for tumor progression. - Presents cancer stem characteristics and their signaling pathways - Highlights the use of animal models for cancer research, the use of genetically modified stem cells to deliver antitumor agents, and the significance of stem cell signaling in drug discovery - Covers basic and translational research appropriate for scientists and clinicians exploring alternative treatments for various cancers

Recurrence and metastasis of malignancy is a multistep process that involves the escape of tumor cells from the primary location, systemic translocation in the body, and adaptation to the foreign microenvironment of distant sites. The spread of cancer cells is mediated by the interaction between tumor cells (seeds) and the microenvironment of the host organ (soil). Emerging evidence has revealed several stages of the invasion-metastasis cascade, including epithelial-mesenchymal transition, angiogenesis, and immune surveillance escape. Moreover, host organs could develop premetastatic niches and be more vulnerable to cancer cell colonization, adaptation and growth.

Basic scientific background Breast cancer is one of the most common cancer and the most frequent cause of cancer death among women worldwide. Currently, subtyping breast cancers into hormone receptor (HR) positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 overexpressing (HER2+), and triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the basis of diagnosing and treating this disease. The main treatment strategies for breast cancer include surgery, endocrine therapy, molecular targeted therapy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy and gene therapy. However, resistance of breast cancer cells to chemotherapeutic agents, molecular targeted therapies and immunotherapy may occur either intrinsically or de nova, and is often ultimately responsible for treatment failure. Therefore, drug resistance poses a major challenge to breast cancer treatment. Current developments: Drug resistance in breast cancer is a complex clinical condition originating from a wide range of molecular alterations. The development of endocrine therapy resistance is believed to be associated with many cellular changes, such as ESR1 gene mutations, bypassing estrogen signaling pathway and altered tamoxifen metabolism. Meanwhile, changes in immune response, alternation of drug-binding property and downstream pathways are involved in the mechanisms of drug resistance in HER2+ breast cancer. In addition, resistance to chemotherapeutic agents predominantly arises from increased drug efflux and cross resistance. Current studies suggest that treatment strategies and therapeutics have to be designed specifically to each patient in different clinical situations. The use of modern genomic, proteomic and functional analytical techniques has contributed to identify novel genes and signaling networks involved in breast cancer drug resistance. Moreover, the use of high-throughput techniques in combination with bioinformatics and systems biology approaches has aided the interrogation of clinical samples and allowed the identification of molecular signatures and genotypes that predict responses to certain drugs. Despite much progress has been made in the field of breast cancer drug resistance, such as combination therapy and drug-loaded nanoparticles, the complexity and variability of drug resistance mechanism still inevitably lead to the continuous occurrence of drug resistance. Therefore, with the increasing amounts of anti-breast cancer agents, there are now unprecedented opportunities to understand and overcome drug resistance through further research into mechanisms and corresponding strategies, which will help achieve lasting disease control and bring survival benefits to patients with advanced cancer. Papers of interest: The current Research Topic of Frontiers in Pharmacology focuses on publishing Original Research, Review articles and Case Reports focusing on (a) elucidating mechanisms of drug resistance in breast cancer, target mutations, tumor microenvironment, undiscovered genes and signaling pathways; (b) promising drug delivery systems that can enhance the sensitivity of anti- breast cancer agents to various tumors; (c) strategies that can improve patient care during bio-chemotherapeutic treatments; (d) small molecule compounds that are effective against drug-resistant breast tumors (e) biomarkers of chemotherapy resistance in breast cancer patients and (f) in vitro and in vivo models. Guidelines for article of submission: - Authors must stick to the set guidelines for ethical practices by the Frontiers journals. - The main content of the article must have certain innovation and research significance. - The authors should describe the construction method of drug-resistant cell lines when using them for experiments in the article.

Strategies for Overcoming Chemotherapy Resistance in Cervical Cancer: From Molecular Insights to Precision Solutions, Volume 21 highlights different strategies to reverse chemotherapy resistance in cervical cancer. The book puts a strong focus on strategies to reverse chemotherapy resistance as well as strategies for early detection of the resistance, enhancing precision oncology in terms of patient care and maximizing patient management. The book also looks at virally induced resistance to chemotherapy and recommends combination therapies that can maximize the reversal of this resistance.In 10 chapters, the book not only gives an overview of cervical cancer and chemotherapy as treatment, but also investigates resistance to chemotherapy and treatment for resistance. It defines treatment mechanisms, options, and limitations to beat chemotherapy resistance and the reversal of the resistance mechanisms. It gives insights into future directions of cervical cancer treatment using epigenetic silencing, chemotherapy splicing, the involvement of MicroRNAs to chemotherapy resistance, and the application of Artificial Intelligence. - Discusses strategies to reverse and detect resistance to chemotherapy at an early stage - Investigates the applications of Artificial Intelligence in the study of cervical chemotherapy resistance - Presents research and applications developed to overcome cancer resistance