Kuo and colleagues review the application of organoids to study cancer biology and pursue clinical translation and precision medicine.

Poulikakos and colleagues demonstrate that thermostable CDK6 complexes promote resistance to therapeutic targeting of CDK4/6 in cancer.

Magrini et. al. study sarcoma development and antitumor immune response in complement-deficient murine hosts, demonstrating a role for the C3a–C3aR axis in promoting immunosuppressive macrophages.

Walsh and colleagues use prospective sequencing in a large cohort of pediatric patients with solid tumors to detect mutations in cancer predisposition genes and guide downstream clinical care.

Zender, Dauch and colleagues demonstrate that pharmacologically induced lipotoxicity by activating LXRα and Raf-1 inhibition provides a metabolic therapeutic strategy for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Eilers and colleagues report that Aurora-A suppresses transcription–replication conflicts in MYCN-driven neuroblastoma, a vulnerability that can be targeted with a combination of Aurora-A and ATR kinase inhibitors.

Ma et al. apply few-shot learning to train a neural network model on cell-line drug-response data, and they subsequently transfer it to distinct biological contexts including different tissues and patient-derived tumor cells and xenografts.

The election of Joe Biden to the US presidency has rekindled optimism in the world of science. To truly bring science to center stage will require bold political moves, the pulling together of all stakeholders, and time.

The complexity of glioblastoma is becoming increasingly recognized. Three recent studies used single-cell approaches that integrate cellular states, transcriptional trajectories, and metabolic alterations to uncover multiple dimensions of cellular and molecular heterogeneity and provide a framework for additional functional investigation and therapeutic development.

Metabolic reprogramming mediates resistance to therapy and rewires cancer-cell-signaling networks, paving the way to the discovery of enhanced treatment strategies through acquired vulnerabilities. A study now points to lipotoxicity dependent on Raf-1 kinase that occurs after activation of the liver receptor LXRα as a therapeutic intervention for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, poses a clear and present danger to the health and well-being of populations. Here we discuss its indirect impact on global cancer prevention and control efforts, particularly for cervical cancer. We suggest some comparisons between the COVID-19 pandemic and the human papillomavirus–induced cancer burden, as well as opportunities for translating pandemic-control strategies into effective cancer control.

This month marks one year since the launch of Nature Cancer. As we celebrate our first anniversary, we reflect on the past year and thank the cancer research community for embracing our journal.

Inhibition of the anti-apoptotic protein BCL-2 has emerged as a highly effective treatment for acute myeloid leukemia; approved lower-intensity venetoclax combination therapies are now being rapidly incorporated into an improved standard of care for this cancer. Here we recount an abbreviated history of venetoclax for acute myeloid leukemia, focusing on a selection of key studies along the path from development into the clinic.