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'River delta' by Lara Crow, inspired by the Review on p468, which discusses intestinal stem cell dynamics and plasticity and links to colorectal cancer biology.
Two papers inCancer Cellreport the surprising findings that some components of the pancreatic cancer microenvironment suppress, rather than promote, tumour progression.
Highfillet al. find that blocking CXCR2 prevents MDSCs from infiltrating embryonal rhabdomyosarcomas, which improves the response to immune checkpoint blockade.
Ablation of cancer stem cells in established glioblastomas in mice by knockout of the nuclear receptor tailless (Tlx) has therapeutic benefit, and TLX may have a similar role in human glioblastoma stem cells.
Mutations in the RAF family have been associated with several types of cancer, with BRAF mutations being the most common. This led to the development of BRAF inhibitors, which initially improve clinical responses but frequently induce more aggressive, drug-resistant disease and secondary tumours. This Review discusses what we know about RAF mutants in cancer and the lessons learned about acquired drug resistance, especially feedback signalling and the effects of dosing regimens.
This Review discusses recent studies that offer quantitative insights into the dynamics of intestinal stem cell behaviour that govern homeostasis. These studies provide the necessary baseline parameters such that we can begin to understand stem cell behaviour during colorectal cancer development.
de Jonget al. provide an overview of recent developments in molecular imaging and oncological animal models in basic and translational cancer research, with an emphasis on how to improve the translational value of preclinical imaging studies.
Normal epithelia can use apical cell extrusion to remove cells without disrupting their barrier function. However, oncogenic mutations can shift extrusion basally, and this Opinion article asks whether this might promote cell invasion and metastasis.
The poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) family comprises 17 enzymes, which generate poly(ADP-ribose) and/or mono(ADP-ribose) (MAR) that can modify target protein function and can function as a signalling scaffold. These modifications may have various roles in cancer and, as discussed in this Opinion article, inhibitors of MARylation in particular may warrant investigation as anticancer drugs.
