Mitochondrial Quality Control and Metabolic Reprogramming in Cancer: Implications for Tumor Progression, Immunity, and Therapy

Mitochondria are increasingly recognized as central regulators of cancer cell fate, extending far beyond their classical role in bioenergetics. Alterations in mitochondrial dynamics, biogenesis, metabolism, and quality control pathways -particularly mitophagy- have emerged as key drivers of tumor initiation, progression, immune evasion, and therapy resistance. Cancer cells exploit these mitochondrial adaptive mechanisms to sustain metabolic plasticity, survive oxidative and therapeutic stress, and reshape the tumor microenvironment (TME).This Research Topic aims to provide a comprehensive and mechanistic understanding of how mitochondrial quality control and metabolic rewiring influence oncogenic processes across diverse cancer types. The collection will highlight both the tumor-promoting and tumor suppressive roles of mitochondrial pathways, emphasizing their context-dependent functions in cancer biology. Particular focus will be placed on mitochondrial dynamics (fusion–fission balance), mitophagy pathways (canonical and non-canonical), redox regulation, calcium signaling, and their integration with oncogenic signaling networks.In parallel, this Topic explores the emerging role of mitochondria in tumor–immune interactions. Mitochondrial metabolism and damage-associated molecular signals critically shape immune cell activation, differentiation, and effector function within the TME. Understanding how cancer-associated mitochondrial alterations modulate antitumor immunity, immune suppression, and responses to immunotherapy represents an important and timely area of investigation.The collection will also address translational and therapeutic perspectives, including mitochondrial vulnerabilities as targets for cancer treatment, combinatorial strategies exploiting mitochondrial dysfunction, and the impact of mitochondrial regulators on therapy resistance and disease recurrence.We welcome Original Research articles, Reviews, Mini-Reviews, and Perspectives covering (but not limited to):- Mitochondrial dynamics and mitophagy in cancer progression- Metabolic reprogramming and redox signaling driven by mitochondrial dysfunction- Mitochondria-mediated regulation of tumor immunity and inflammation- Crosstalk between mitochondrial pathways and oncogenic signaling- Therapeutic targeting of mitochondrial quality control mechanismsThis Research Topic aims to stimulate interdisciplinary discussion and provide a forward looking framework for leveraging mitochondrial biology in precision oncology.Please note: manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics, computational analysis, or predictions of public databases which are not accompanied by validation (independent clinical or patient cohort, or biological validation in vitro or in vivo, which are not based on public databases) are not suitable for publication in this Research Topic. Topic editors: Sayak Ghosh, Amel BENAMMAR ELGAAÏED Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83179/mitochondrial-quality-control-and-metabolic-reprogramming-in-cancer-implications-for-tumor-progression-immunity-and-therapy