At the interface between basic and clinical sciences, we move steadily toward a better understanding and treatment of cancer. Nature Medicine is proud to present a collection of Reviews on some of the most exciting current trends in cancer research.

Asthma affects an estimated 300 million people worldwide. Despite the availability of therapies for symptomatic control of the disease, a significant fraction of patients remain refractory to treatment and progress to severe asthma. This series of reviews highlights recent advances in our understanding of asthma pathogenesis, clinical presentation of disease, and novel therapies aimed at targeting pathologic mechanisms initiating and sustaining allergic inflammation.

The January 2012 special issue presents two important strategies for generating potent and lasting anti-tumor immunity. The first strategy is to subvert immune suppressive networks in the tumor microenvironment. The second strategy is to optimize conventional and anti-biological modalities to directly target tumor and adjacent tumor tissue, and mobilize and expand anti-tumor immunity in the tumor microenvironment which results in tumor eradication. Further background information on this important topic is available through the accompanying web focus which links to related articles from across Springer Nature.

Vascular dysfunction can cause or contribute to many types of pathology, from hypertension to myocardial infarction to cancer. This series of reviews—inspired by the conference "Vascular Disease 2011: From Bench to Bedside", event cosponsored by the UCSD Clinical and Translational Research Institute and Nature Medicine—highlights new mechanistic findings across a broad spectrum of vascular diseases that may lead to new and innovative treatments.

Which new findings are having the greatest influence on cancer research today? We asked experts to help identify the most important recent papers that are shaping the direction of cancer research. Here we present their selections and thoughts on the impact of current research directions on future clinical gains.

The articles in this collection review our progress in understanding the neurobiological basis of pain and the challenges to translate these advances into new analgesics.

Helper T cell heterogeneity was discovered two decades ago, initially with the designation of Th1 and Th2 cells, which are involved in immunity against intracellular and extracellular pathogens, respectively. Several years ago a third lineage was identified as the Th17 cells and several novel T cell subsets have since been found, including Treg and Tfh cells. The collection of articles presented in the May special issue and accompanying web focus summarize our understanding of the development and function of the T cell subsets in immunity and immune diseases.

In what direction is the field of reproductive biology going? By bringing together input from top scientists and decision makers interested in this field, this focus identifies the recent papers with the most impact in reproductive biology and identifies the key issues that are shaping our thinking in this field.

In what direction is the field of tuberculosis going? By bringing together input from top scientists, analysts and decision makers interested in tuberculosis research, this focus identifies the recent papers with the most impact in the discipline and identifies the key issues that are shaping our thinking in this field.

A collection of research and review articles from Nature Publishing Group on recent advances in our understanding of psychiatric disorders.

In the same spirit as our metabolic syndrome focus, a close look at the papers that have had the most influence on the Alzheimer community, and an analysis of the relevant drug market and funding priorities.

What makes the metabolic syndrome field tick? Discover the recent papers with the most impact in the discipline and find out the funding priorities of countries interested in this problem.