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Causal associations have been established between dysregulated ribosome biogenesis and cancer. In this Opinion article, the authors highlight emerging mechanistic data on the molecular basis of ribosomes in cancer and offer their perspective on how these advances present therapeutic opportunities.
The adenosinergic pathway is a major immunosuppressive mechanism in the tumour microenvironment. In this Review, Vijayanet al. discuss how targeting components involved in the generation and downstream signalling of extracellular adenosine represents an attractive novel cancer therapy.
This Analysis examines preclinical mouse tumour studies published in eight scientific journals in 2016. It reviews current practices, identifies some important challenges and discusses ways in which the relevance, reproducibility and translatability of tumour models could be improved.
Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are functional molecules that regulate physiological programmes in developmental and disease contexts. This Review article discusses the complex networks of interactions that ncRNAs engage in and how these confer oncogenic or tumour-suppressive effects in cancer.
Sphingolipids, specifically ceramide and sphingosine-1-phosphate, have opposing roles in regulating cancer cell death and survival, respectively. This Review discusses the mechanistic and clinical studies of sphingolipid signalling and metabolism in cancer, highlighting current and emerging therapeutic strategies to target these bioactive lipids.
Konget al. report a mechanism that underlies tumour 'drug addiction' in melanoma cell lines and mouse models involving an ERK2-dependent phenotype switch, which might have clinical implications for the use of alternating treatment strategies with targeted therapies.
Despite advances in targeting oncogenic driver mutations, advanced-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains largely incurable due to therapeutic resistance. This Review focuses on how understanding the mechanisms of resistance to targeted therapies in NSCLC can inform improved treatment strategies.
A recent study shows that smoking-induced epigenetic changes in lung epithelium occur even before malignant transformation, and sensitize the cells to allow a single key oncogenic event to initiate the growth of a tumour.
This Review by Mitchellet al. summarizes how engineering and the physical sciences have advanced oncology by highlighting four important areas: the physical microenvironment of the tumour, drug delivery, cellular and molecular imaging, and microfluidics and microfabrication.
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) uncover the impact of genetic variation on the risk of many common cancers. This Review discusses current insights and how understanding the biological basis of these associations is required to maximise the clinical benefit of GWAS.
Zhanget al. report that CD8+tumour-infiltrating T lymphocytes exposed to a hypoglycaemic and hypoxic tumour microenvironment enhance PPARα signalling and fatty acid catabolism to partially preserve effector functions and increase the efficacy of immunotherapy in melanoma mouse models.
Several types of human tumour are dependent on mutations in BRAF. This led to the development of RAF inhibitors, which prolong patient survival but are limited by resistance. This Review discusses the recent advances in our understanding of BRAF oncogenic signalling, RAF inhibitor activity and the implementation of this knowledge for the development of next-generation inhibitors.
Using DNA barcoding, Lanet al. investigated the clonal evolution and dynamics of glioblastoma cells, and propose a model whereby proliferative heterogeneity is derived from stochastic fate decisions made by a homogeneous population of glioblastoma stem cells and their progeny.
This issue marks the publication of a Consensus Statement that proposes a classification system for the evolutionary and ecological features of cancers.
Emerging data indicate that exercise modulates cancer biology and disease outcomes; however, the molecular mechanisms are poorly established. In this Opinion article, the authors speculate on how exercise might reprogramme the tumour microenvironment to influence cancer hallmarks.
Based on a consensus conference of experts in the evolution and ecology of cancer, this article proposes a framework for classifying tumours that includes four evolutionary and ecological processes: neoplastic cell diversity and changes over time in that diversity, hazards to cell survival and available resources.
