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Most cancer deaths are caused by metastatic spread and subsequent growth of tumour cells at distant organs. How are disseminating tumour cells relevant to the biology of early metastatic spread and how might they be used to improve cancer treatment?
Imatinib has been an extremely successful treatment for chronic myeloid leukaemia. However, we need to know about the stem cells involved in the disease to understand why relapse is so common when imatinib is stopped.
This Review discusses the recent progress in the treatment of established (pre)malignant disease of viral or non-viral origin with synthetic long peptide vaccines that are capable of inducing robust T-cell responses.
Changes in the levels of the second messenger Ca2+ can result in the activation of broadly proliferative or cytotoxic responses. As reviewed here, to tip the balance in their favour, cancer cells often remodel the expression or activity of their Ca2+signalling apparatus.
The causes of metastasis remain elusive. Could the fusion of cancer cells with macrophages or other migratory bone marrow-derived cells (BMDCs) provide an explanation?
The Wnt signalling pathway has a crucial role in the development of all animal species, and mutations or deregulated expression of components of the Wnt pathway can result in cancer. This Timeline examines the past 25 years of crucial discoveries — from a variety of disciplines — about the components and functions of this pathway.
The developing world is set to be ravaged by an impending cancer epidemic. How can we help to ensure that cancer patients get the treatment they need in Africa?