Reviews & Analysis

The incidence of most cancers increases with age, and there are various ageing-associated changes that might contribute to increased tumorigenesis, and paradoxically, to decreased tumorigenesis. Lessons may be learned from diseases conferring premature ageing or longevity, and this Opinion article discusses our current understanding of the connections between ageing and cancer.

The transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) ligands have important functions in cancer. However, it is now becoming apparent that many of the other TGFβ superfamily members (bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), activins, NODAL, and growth and differentiation factors (GDFs)) have crucial roles in tumorigenesis and metastasis; these are the focus of this Review.

Increasing evidence indicates that components of the RNA polymerase complexes are altered in cancer. This Review discusses how all three classes of human RNA polymerase activity are dysregulated in cancer and the opportunities to therapeutically target RNA polymerase activity.

The regulation of iron metabolism is altered in tumour cells. Changes in iron regulation enhance iron influx and retention. This leads to altered cellular processes that foster cancer growth and metastasis, and provides an opportunity for the development of therapeutics that target iron availability.

For more than four decades, cells have been studied in space. This work has provided insight into how normal cells and cancer cells grow and aggregate into complex architectures and respond to extrinsic forces. This Review discusses what we have learned about cell biology from space-based research and how this might be applied to cancer research on Earth.

Using malignant melanoma as a paradigm, these authors propose that therapy-induced injury to tumour tissue and the resultant inflammation can activate protective and regenerative responses that represent a shared resistance mechanism to different treatments.

Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) has anti-angiogenic, antitumorigenic and antimetastatic properties. If PEDF is to be used for cancer management, a deeper appreciation of its many functions and mechanisms of action is needed, as discussed in this Review.

The presence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is linked to an increased risk of developing lung cancer, independently of cigarette smoking dosage. This Review discusses the nature of the link between the two diseases and considers specific mechanisms that operate in both COPD and lung cancer.

A wealth of recent studies has characterized roles for the Hippo pathway in diverse cancer-relevant processes. This Review discusses our latest understanding of Hippo pathway signalling in cancer, including mechanisms of pathway disruption in cancer, and the opportunities and challenges for therapeutic intervention.

The vast majority of the research into cancer metabolism has been limited to a handful of metabolic pathways, with other pathways being sidelined. This Progress article brings to light the potential contribution of fatty acid oxidation to cancer cell function.

The CPEBs regulate polyadenylation — and thus expression — of certain RNAs, including those encoding oncogenes and tumour suppressors. This Opinion article analyses whether the CPEBs are deregulated in cancer and discusses the possible implications for cancer biology.

There have been substantial advances in understanding the molecular pathogenesis of thyroid cancer, which have provided insights into genetic and epigenetic alterations in this cancer and into PI3K and MAPK signalling, for example. This Review discusses these findings and the implications for novel treatment of thyroid cancer.

Malignant ascites presents a considerable clinical challenge to the management of ovarian cancer. This Opinion article discusses recent advances in our understanding of its pathophysiology, the development of new methods to characterize its molecular features and how these findings can be used to improve the treatment of malignant ascites.

BAP1 is a deubiquitylase that is associated with multiprotein complexes that regulate key cellular pathways. Recent findings have indicated that germlineBAP1mutations might cause a novel cancer syndrome. Michele Carbone and colleagues discuss the evidence for this.

This Review discusses how genetic lineage tracing can be used to quantify the behaviour of normal, preneoplastic and tumour cells in epithelia in transgenic mice. It also discusses some of the limitations of lineage tracing in mouse models of cancer.

Cyclins control the activity of cyclin-dependent kinases, which drive cell cycle progression. The expression of cyclins can be disrupted in cancer cells, and this Opinion article discusses the possibility that altered subcellular localization of cyclins may also affect cell cycle progression and genomic stability.

Drosophila melanogasterhas often provided the first glimpse into the mechanism of action of human cancer-related proteins. In addition,D. melanogasterstrains engineered to recapitulate key aspects of specific types of human cancer are providing us with further insights into malignancy, and serving as platforms for drug discovery.

Although we understand various aspects of prostate cancer biology, few reliable risk factors are known. This Opinion article rationalizes why exposures early in life may be key for prostate cancer risk, summarizes our current limited understanding of early-life exposures and provides visions for the future.

p63 is expressed as various isoforms that seem to have opposing roles in cancer, with some being tumour suppressive and others being oncogenic. This Opinion article discusses the functions of the p63 isoforms and their interplay with other members of the p53 family.

Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is essential for driving plasticity during development, but can also occur in tumour cells during cancer progression. This Review discusses the layers of regulation (including the transcriptional and translational machinery, non-coding RNAs, alternative splicing and protein stability) that control the process and plasticity of EMT.