Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management

Novel Biomarkers and Molecular Biology of Solid Tumors

Solid tumors are biologically heterogeneous diseases shaped by dynamic interactions among genomic alterations, epigenetic states, transcriptional programs, the tumor microenvironment, and host factors. As a result, there is growing interest in biomarkers that can capture tumor behavior more accurately than conventional clinicopathologic variables alone. This Article Collection will focus on emerging biomarkers and molecular mechanisms relevant to solid tumors, spanning tissue-based and liquid-biopsy approaches, multi-omic profiling, and mechanistic studies that clarify how molecular alterations drive tumor initiation, progression, metastatic spread, and therapeutic response. The Collection aims to bring together contributions that bridge discovery science and translational oncology, with particular attention to robust biomarker development, biological interpretation, and clinically meaningful applications across common and rare solid malignancies.

This topic is important because the clinical management of solid tumors increasingly depends on precise molecular stratification. Reliable biomarkers can improve early detection, refine diagnosis, support prognosis, identify patients most likely to benefit from targeted or immune-based therapies, and enable longitudinal monitoring of response, minimal residual disease, and resistance. At the same time, many promising markers remain insufficiently validated, biologically underexplained, or difficult to translate across platforms and clinical settings. A focused collection on this subject can help connect mechanistic tumor biology with practical biomarker implementation, highlighting not only novel discoveries but also the methodological and interpretative challenges that determine whether a biomarker becomes clinically useful. This is especially timely as integrated molecular diagnostics, digital pathology, and longitudinal sampling are reshaping precision oncology.

We welcome original research articles, reviews, and other article types supported by the journal that address molecular and biomarker-driven research in solid tumors. Relevant subtopics include discovery and validation of diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers; tumor genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and spatial profiling; biomarkers derived from circulating tumor DNA, circulating tumor cells, exosomes, and other liquid-biopsy analytes; tumor microenvironment and immune-related markers; mechanisms of treatment sensitivity and resistance; biomarker-guided therapeutic strategies; digital pathology and computational or AI-assisted biomarker analysis; assay development, standardization, and translational studies that link molecular findings to patient stratification and clinical decision-making across solid tumor types.

Keywords:

• Solid tumors
  Biomarkers
  Molecular oncology
  Liquid biopsy
  Precision medicine

All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo desk assessment and peer review if they can pass the desk assessments as part of our standard editorial process; the Guest Advisor for this Collection will not be handling the manuscripts (unless they are an Editorial Board member).

Please review the journal scope and author submission instructions before submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submitting manuscripts is 31 January 2027.

Please contact Catherine Teng at [email protected]  with any queries and discount codes regarding this Article Collection.