Cancer gene therapy 2020: highlights from a challenging year

Abstract

During 2020, like everything else, cancer research has been challenged by the global Covid-19 pandemic [1, 2]. Although most of the laboratories worldwide had a period of forced stop, still scientists have found ways to cope and adapt to the rapidly changing circumstances and remain focused and productive during these challenging times. Being perfectly aware of the difficulties that investigators have been facing, Cancer Gene Therapy (CGT) has adjusted the peer review process accordingly (i) by extending the revision timelines, (ii) by being realistic in the requests for technically challenging and time-consuming additional experiments and (iii) by demanding to tone down conclusions where definite supporting data were not available. Despite these conditions, the journal’s priorities to safeguard the quality and sustain the integrity of the published scientific work were not affected. The researchers’ resilience is embodied in the fascinating research that has been published in CGT over the last year and that has captured the interest of the scientific community. Here, we highlight some of the articles that cover different aspects of current cutting-edge research including the development of organoids as cancer models, novel methods like new drug delivery systems as well as innovative applications of the zebrafish model. Identification of new therapeutic targets for AML