Radiation Response, Immune Remodeling, and Therapy Resistance in Pediatric Solid Tumors

Proposed abstractPediatric solid tumors, including neuroblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, brain tumors, and other childhood cancers, remain a major clinical challenge, especially when tumors become resistant to radiotherapy and multimodal treatment. Radiation response is not only determined by direct DNA damage, but also by complex cellular programs involving DNA repair, cell cycle control, oxidative stress, mitochondrial function, ferroptosis, autophagy, senescence, immune signaling, and tumor microenvironment remodeling.In pediatric cancers, these mechanisms can shape tumor cell survival, immune escape, recurrence, and long-term treatment response. Radiation can alter tumor immunogenicity, antigen presentation, cytokine signaling, stromal interactions, and immune cell infiltration, while resistant tumor cells may activate adaptive stress pathways that support survival under therapeutic pressure. Understanding these processes from a cancer cell biology perspective is essential for identifying new biomarkers, improving treatment stratification, and developing rational combination strategies.This Research Topic aims to bring together mechanistic, translational, and multi-omics studies exploring how pediatric solid tumors respond to radiation and how radiation induced cellular stress, immune remodeling, and resistance pathways influence cancer progression and therapy outcomes. We welcome studies using experimental models, patient-derived samples, organoids, animal models, spatial profiling, single cell approaches, and validated multi omics analyses to better define the biological mechanisms that shape radiation response and resistance in pediatric oncology.Proposed scopeThis Research Topic welcomes Original Research, Reviews, Mini Reviews, Perspectives, and Methods articles focused on radiation response, immune remodeling, and therapy resistance in pediatric solid tumors.Contributions of interest include, but are not limited to:Radiation response mechanisms in pediatric solid tumors, including neuroblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, pediatric brain tumors, and other childhood cancersDNA damage response, DNA repair, cell cycle control, and checkpoint signaling after radiotherapyTumor cell survival pathways activated by radiation-induced stressRadiation-induced immune remodeling in the tumor microenvironmentChanges in antigen presentation, cytokine signaling, immune infiltration, and immune escape after radiotherapyInteractions between tumor cells, immune cells, stromal cells, and vascular compartments during radiation responseOxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, ferroptosis, autophagy, and senescence in radiation-treated pediatric tumorsMechanisms of resistance to radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or combination treatmentBiomarkers predicting radiation response, recurrence, or treatment resistance in pediatric oncologyMulti-omics, single-cell, spatial, proteomic, transcriptomic, or radiogenomic approaches with biological or experimental validationPreclinical models, organoids, patient-derived models, xenografts, and clinically relevant systems for studying radiation responseTranslational strategies combining radiotherapy with immunotherapy, targeted therapy, metabolic intervention, or cell-death modulationSubmissions should provide clear mechanistic, translational, or model-based relevance to cancer cell biology. Studies that are purely descriptive, rely only on bioinformatic analysis without validation, or lack a clear connection to tumor cell behavior, immune interaction, or therapy response may fall outside the preferred scope of this collection. Topic editors: Jiajian Hu, Jian Zheng, Meng Li, Fei Peng Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/85168/radiation-response-immune-remodeling-and-therapy-resistance-in-pediatric-solid-tumors