Personalized oncology is an evidence-based, individualized medicine aimed to identify and treat each patient on the basis of its biological and molecular characteristics. The founding principle of personalized oncology is represented by the development and continuous implementation of biomarkers. Personalized oncology based on biomarkers has already had a striking impact in the clinical practice. The identification of predictive, prognostic, and early response biomarkers is increasingly influencing the management of patients with advanced solid tumors and hematological malignancies. Moreover, with the advent of molecular diagnostics, we are now able to identify patients who are more likely to display exquisite sensitivity to targeted therapies or immunotherapy, which often translates in unprecedented survival benefit. Also the advent of high-throughput genomic and molecular profiling has led to the discovery of a wide spectrum of potentially clinically relevant biomarkers that hopefully will provide us with a deeper understanding of molecular mechanism underlying cancer development and progression.

The aim of this special issue is to provide readers with a comprehensive overview of the rapidly expanding field of predictive and prognostic biomarkers in the era of personalized cancer medicine, focusing on those that have already a remarkable application in clinical setting, but also touching upon the preclinical identification and development of potentially promising biomarkers that are expected to gain a relevant role in the near future. Therefore, we encourage the submission of original research and review articles that describe the state of the art of the topics proposed and also warmly welcome clinical studies.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Emerging biomarkers in solid tumors
• Prognostic and predictive markers in gastrointestinal tumors
• Prognostic and predictive markers in breast cancer
• Prognostic and predictive markers in other solid tumors
• Oncogene addicted non-small-cell lung cancer
• Prognostic and predictive biomarkers in hematologic malignancies
• Predictive and prognostic biomarkers in the era of immunotherapy
• Potentially actionable targets in molecular oncology: preclinical evidence