Polypharmacology in Cancer Therapy: Overcoming Resistance and Enhancing Efficacy

Introduction:

Cancer remains a leading cause of global mortality, with therapeutic challenges primarily arising from drug resistance and limited treatment efficacy.

Polypharmacology—the strategic use of multi-target drugs or synergistic drug combinations—has emerged as a transformative approach to address these limitations. This special issue highlights cutting-edge advancements in polypharmacology for cancer therapy, focusing on:

Mechanisms of drug resistance and the potential of multi-target strategies to circumvent them.

Rational design of drug combinations to maximize efficacy while minimizing adverse effects.

Computational and AI-driven methodologies for discovering novel polypharmacological agents.

 

Topics covered include, but are not limited to:

We invite submissions of Full-Length Articles, Reviews, Editorials, Correspondence, and Short Communications on the following themes:

1. Multi-Target Drug Design

Discovery of compounds targeting multiple cancer-related pathways.

Structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies for polypharmacological agents.

2. Overcoming Drug Resistance

Inhibition of compensatory signaling pathways in resistant tumors.

Epigenetic and metabolic adaptations in resistance, and polypharmacological interventions.

3. Synergistic Drug Combinations

High-throughput screening for optimal drug synergies.

Nanotechnology-based delivery systems for combination therapies.

4. Computational and AI Approaches

Network pharmacology and machine learning models for drug interaction prediction.

Virtual screening of multi-target inhibitors.

 

Important dates:

Submission deadline:  July 10, 2026

 

Submission instructions:

Please read the Guide for Authors before submitting. All articles should be submitted online via the editorial management system; please select article type “Polypharmacology Cancer Therapy”.

Manuscript Types: Full Length Article, reviews, editorials, correspondence, and short communications

Article Processing Charge (APC) : $1680.

 

Guest Editors​

Gary A. Piazza, Ph.D.

Email: gap0034@auburn.edu

Affiliation: Auburn University, Department of Drug Discovery and Development, Harrison College of Pharmacy; Auburn, AL 36849, USA.

Homepage: https://pharmacy.auburn.edu/directory/gary-piazza.php

Research Interests: Signal transduction, cancer biology, phosphodiesterase, cyclic guanosine monophosphate, β-catenin, RAS

 

Zhe-Sheng (Jason) Chen

Email:  Chenz@stjohns.edu

Affiliation:  College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, St. John’s University, New York, 11439, USA

Homepage: https://www.stjohns.edu/academics/faculty/zhe-sheng-chen

Research Interests: Drug resistance and its reversal in cancer

 

Adam B. Keeton

Email: abk0039@auburn.edu

Affiliation: Auburn University Harrison College of Pharmacy; Auburn, AL 36849, USA.

Homepage: https://pharmacy.auburn.edu/directory/adam-keeton.php

Research Interests: Oncology, Targeted Drug Discovery, Assay Development.

 

Angela I. Calderón

Email: a0001@auburn.edu

Affiliation: Department of Drug Discovery and Development, Harrison College of Pharmacy, Auburn University

Homepage: https://pharmacy.auburn.edu/directory/angela-calderon.php

Research Interests: Botanical drug interactions, Integration of bioactivity to mass spectrometry of natural products using Computational and statistical tools, MS-based bioassays, and natural products chemistry.