Call for papers - Challenges and advances in brain tumor diagnosis and treatment

Guest Editors

Antonella Castellano, MD, PhD, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University and Ospedale San Raffaele, Italy
Mustafa Aziz Hatiboglu, MD, Bezmialem Vakif University, Türkiye
Imran Khan, PhD, University of Nebraska Center, USA

Submission Status: Open | Submission Deadline: 30 January 2025

This Collection seeks to gather cutting-edge research on the challenges and advances in brain tumor diagnosis, encompassing the use of advanced imaging technologies, computer-aided methods, and innovative treatment modalities. We invite researchers to contribute their work, addressing topics such as tumor detection, segmentation, classification, and the development of personalized treatment strategies, with the aim of improving patient outcomes and advancing the field of neuro-oncology.

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Meet the Guest Editors

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Antonella Castellano, MD, PhD, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University and Ospedale San Raffaele, Italy

Antonella Castellano is Associate Professor of Neuroradiology at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, and neuroradiologist at San Raffaele Hospital, Milan. Prof Castellano's research activity is focused on the field of advanced MRI techniques applied to neuro-oncology. In particular, she is an expert in the development and validation of Diffusion MRI and Tractography, Perfusion MRI and Functional MRI (fMRI) techniques to improve tumor diagnosis, neurosurgical planning and treatment response assessment. She is Board Member of the Italian Chapter of the ISMRM (International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine) since 2018, Member of the Diagnostic Neuroradiology Committee of the European Society of Neuroradiology (ESNR) and Member of the Scientific Committee of the European Association of Neuro-Oncology (EANO) since 2020, Chair of the Functional Neuroradiology Section and Board Member of the Italian Association of Neuroradiology (AINR) since 2022. In 2023 she has been appointed as Member of the ESR European Imaging Biomarkers Alliance Subcommittee, part of the ESR (European Society of Radiology) Research Committee.

Mustafa Aziz Hatiboglu, MD, Bezmialem Vakif University, Türkiye

Dr Mustafa Aziz Hatiboglu, a medical graduate from Ankara Univeristy in Türkiye, did his postdoctoral research and clinical fellowships on Neurosurgical Oncology between 2007 and 2011 at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas after completion of his neurosurgery training in Istanbul. He has become chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery since 2015 and also Department of Molecular Biology since 2020 at Bezmialem Vakif Univerisity. He received the position of Professor in 2020.

He established his own “brain tumor research laboratory” and focuses on clinical and translational research on primary and metastatic brain tumors. Particularly, he investigates the role of microbiome and metabolomics in glioma; relationship between glioma cancer stem cells and immune response; liquid biopsy; and chemo- and radiation-resistance mechanisms in brain tumors. He has published around 80 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters.

Imran Khan, PhD, University of Nebraska Center, USA

Dr Khan’s undergraduate degree was in Biotechnology from Integral University (IU). To follow his interest in health sciences, he pursued his Master’s in biomedical Genetics from VIT University. In 2013, he was awarded the Maulana Azad National Fellowship by the government of India to pursue his PhD in Biotechnology from IU. His doctoral studies focused on the chemopreventive potential of a natural compound from plant origin against colon cancer using a mammalian cell line model system and have targeted the apoptotic cascade, cell cycle regulation, and different developmental pathways. Immediately after completing his PhD in 2018, he joined Bezmialem Vakif University in 2019 as a Postdoctoral Fellow. His initial postdoctoral research focused on translational research, particularly for glioma and brain metastasis, investigating the mechanisms of brain tumors, establishing new effective treatments, and finding new diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in in-vitro, in-vivo, and ex-vivo model systems. In the past five years, he has authored/co-authored over 20 peer-reviewed research and review articles published in SCI-indexed journals and presented his research work in international conferences and institutional research progress meetings. During his Postdoc, he acquired five intramural research grants as principal investigator. In January 2021, he was awarded the "Emerging Young Cancer Researcher" award by the Molecular Cancer Research Association in Turkey (MOKAD) in the 8th Multidisciplinary Cancer Research Congress. Currently, he is working as Senior Postdoctoral Research Associate at Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, USA. He is working on targeted therapies for pancreatic cancer by targeting stromal cancer-associated fibroblasts-tumor cells crosstalk.

About the Collection

Brain tumors present a complex and challenging area in oncology, with diagnosis and proper treatment being critical aspects of patient management. The use of advanced imaging techniques such as MRI, CT, and PET, along with computer-aided methods, has significantly improved the accuracy and efficiency of brain tumor diagnosis. Nevertheless, challenges persist in tumor detection, segmentation, and classification. It is important to continue advancing collective understanding in brain tumor diagnosis to enhance early detection, improve treatment outcomes, and minimize the burden on patients and healthcare systems. Current treatment options, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, offer only modest prognostic benefits. Managing brain tumors remains exceptionally challenging due to their unique biological characteristics, encompassing the blood-brain barrier, infiltrative nature, and considerable heterogeneity at both inter- and intra-tumoral levels. These tumors often inhabit critical brain regions, eluding even skilled surgical intervention, and commonly display resistance to both conventional and advanced therapies due to the distinct developmental, genetic, epigenetic, and microenvironmental features of the brain. Thus, there is an urgent need for novel strategies to overcome these hurdles and develop improved treatment approaches.

In light of these ongoing difficulties, BMC Cancer is opening a Collection on Challenges and advances in brain tumor diagnosis and treatment. We invite contributions on topics such as:

Advanced imaging techniques for brain tumor diagnosis
Liquid biopsies and identification of new circulating biomarkers
Computer-aided methods and machine learning algorithms for tumor detection and segmentation
Molecular and genetic profiling in brain tumors
Novel treatment modalities in brain tumor management
Improved surgical techniques for brain tumor management
Identification of new therapeutic targets
Mechanisms to overcome therapeutic resistance
Role of the microenvironment in brain tumor biology and treatment
Immune checkpoint inhibitors
Development of more predictive preclinical models

There are currently no articles in this collection.

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of original Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Challenges and advances in brain tumor diagnosis and treatment" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.