Dear Colleagues,

Cancer continues to posed a great threat to women worldwide. It has been estimated that more than 900,000 women will be diagnosed with cancer and over 200,000 women will die of cancer in United States yearly. Clinicians and researchers have developed various novel strategies for diagnosis and treatment of breast and gynecological malignancies. With these strategies, mortality rate in female patients has decreased over years. More advanced technologies that have been applied in cancer research and treatment in women include liquid biopsy and single-cell sequencing. These methods have facilitated early diagnosis and precision medicine. However, more questions have emerged as we have a better understanding toward the complexity of tumor microenvironment (TME). TME plays a vital role in tumorigenesis, progression, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance by dynamically interacting with cancer cells. Various cellular components in TME such as endothelial cells, fibroblasts, pericytes, adipocytes and immune cells can modulate tumor growth and immune activity. Recently researcher studying TME have identified new targets correlated with efficacy in cancer treatments, especially immunotherapy. The immune checkpoint blockades have yielded success in cancers, notably the PD-1/PD-L1 axis. With the progress in immunotherapies, the complexity within tumors has yield new challenges for today’s medicine. Therefore, it is critical to explore and study the new advances in female cancer research, diagnosis, treatment and prognostic.

This Special Issue aims to elucidate the novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies along with the potential mechanisms that affect the tumor microenvironment, immune response, immune escape and immunotherapy resistance in female cancer. We welcome Original Research and Review articles contributing to increase knowledge of these the new hallmarks in cancer.

Dr. Weikai Xiao, Dr. Shaoquan Zheng and Dr. Jindong Xie

Guest Editors