The omics revolution along with the next generation sequencing has recently opened the possibility to identify molecular changes and metabolic pathways specific for each cancer with the resulting possibility of further molecular subclassification of each cancer histotype and identification of a more reliable prognosis and appropriate treatment. A further result is the reduction of overtreatment of those with higher responsivity and better prognosis. Furthermore, such studies do have the possibility of identifying specific cancer targets, with higher effectiveness of chemotherapy and much lower general toxicity. The whole field is in a current turmoil, and a specific issue focused on the clinical validation of newly identified biomarkers, able to bridge molecular mechanisms with clinical diagnosis and therapeutic responsivity, should be very successful and attract the entire scientific community.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Biomarkers in pathogen-related cancers
• Biomarkers of cancer progression
• Inflammation-related biomarkers in cancer diagnosis and progression
• miRNA as a biomarker of cancer progression and therapeutic targets
• Epigenetic biomarkers in cancer immunology
• Tissue cancer biomarkers for targeted therapy
• Plasma/serum markers for clinical diagnosis and followup