Volume 1 Issue 7, July 2020

The approval of anti-TNF therapy for colitis over 20 years ago represented a paradigm shift for the treatment of this disease. Anti-TNF therapy is now shown to prevent colitis-associated colon cancer in mice by modifying the gut microbiota composition and transcriptional activity, including genes in Escherichia coli that control colibactin synthesis.

Natural killer (NK) cells serve a critical role in the control of metastasis. NK cells are now shown to preferentially control monoclonal metastases derived from single circulating tumor cells rather than polyclonal metastases derived from cell clusters. These findings provide further evidence that NK cells are linked to metastatic cell immunoediting.

Aguirre-Ghiso and colleagues discuss the current status of the cancer dormancy field, including challenges and opportunities for monitoring and targeting dormant cancer.

Mellman and colleagues show that dendritic cells represent a key source of PD-L1 in the tumor microenvironment, thereby restricting tumor infiltration by CD8⁺ T cells and antitumor responses.

Scherz-Shouval and colleagues characterize the dynamic changes in cancer-associated fibroblast subpopulations during breast cancer progression. They find that the ratio of S100A4⁺ and PDPN⁺ CAF subsets is associated with clinical outcome.

Zhang and colleagues report that multicellular clusters of circulating tumor cells are more resistant to killing by natural killer (NK) cells through altered NK ligand expression, resulting in polyclonal metastases.

Jobin and colleagues show that targeting inflammation with TNF therapy has a preventative effect on carcinogenic activity of the microbiota in mouse models of colitis-associated colorectal cancer.

Yin and colleagues show that hepatic aldolase B suppresses hepatocellular carcinoma by controlling tumor metabolic reprogramming through G6PD inhibition.