Exploring Morphological Changes and Diversity in Cancer

Dear Colleagues,

Morphological features have always been an important part of cancer’s pathology, as distinct morphological criteria are used in the staging and grading of tumors. On the one hand, very salient morphological changes and aberrations that occur at subcellular levels are associated with specific cancers, including nuclear enlargements or shape and size irregularities; nucleoli prominence; the shrinkage or change in color of the cytoplasm; organellar changes in size, shape, or numbers; membrane or cytoskeleton irregularities; number changes and disorganization of the chromosomes, etc. On the other hand, a tumor's morphology, assessed through a macroscopic or histopathological examination, shows changes in overall cellular size or shape; changes in nuclear density, size, and color; hyperchromasia; pleomorphism; disorderly multicellular arrangements, etc.

Important morphological changes also occur as a result of diverse biological processes that are of critical importance in cancer biology, such as cell death, adhesion, differentiation, epithelial–mesenchymal transitions, motility, invasion, metastasis, stemness, etc. There is also strong evidence that morphological features could contribute to tumor heterogeneity. The study of the structural and molecular mechanisms underlying these biological processes has been, and rightfully remains, essential in cancer research. However, the extent to which the morphological changes associated with these processes are important in cancer progression, heterogeneity, and therapeutic responses has curiously been under-studied. Similarly, decades-old observations of striking morphological features associated with specific tumors have not been further investigated.

The objectives of the current Special Issue are, firstly, to present new concepts and approaches that examine the importance of morphological features in cancer development, progression, and therapeutic responses and, secondly, to bridge the gap between our understanding of the molecular basis of diverse biological processes and our comprehension of how morphology can impact cancer.

Dr. Mustapha Kandouz
Guest Editor

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• morphology
• heterogeneity
• cancer
• phenotype
• shape