In this Review, Cichowski and colleagues provide an overview of combinatorial strategies designed to treat RAS-driven cancers that are based on four concepts that include vertical pathway inhibition, co-targeting RAS and adaptive survival pathways, co-targeting downstream or converging pathways and capitalizing on other cancer-associated vulnerabilities.

In this Review, Paul et al. provide an overview of therapeutic antibodies as an important modality in cancer therapy today. They summarize the different approaches used by antibodies to target cancer cells including those of immune checkpoint inhibitors, bispecific antibodies and antibody–drug conjugates, as well as describing current strategies aimed at improving their efficacy and reducing toxicities.

In a recent study published in Nature, Zhuang et al. outline how ageing affects stemness and tumorigenic potential of tumour-initiating alveolar stem cells in the lung.

The mechanisms by which dietary fructose promotes tumour progression have remained poorly understood. A recent study published in Nature reveals that dietary fructose is metabolized in the liver, resulting in elevated circulating lipid levels that can serve as building blocks for cancer cells outside the liver.

Intercellular mitochondrial transfer via tunnelling nanotubes can influence cellular bioenergetics and function in tumours. A study in Cell demonstrates how this process can increase CD8⁺ T cell metabolic fitness and anti-tumour function.

Wang et al. demonstrate that lactate derived from glioblastoma stem cells, microglia and macrophages drives histone lactylation, activating immunosuppressive transcriptional programs and upregulating CD47, to suppress phagocytosis.

In this Journal Club, Chakrabarti discusses a method to dissect the molecular architecture of inheritable gene expression (memory) states that mark cells that transition into drug-tolerant persister cells in melanoma.

In this Comment, Ben-Aharon et al. advocate for the creation of designated OncoYoung programs to address the unique needs of individuals with early-onset cancer, as well as multinational platforms with dedicated funding to investigate the aetiology of this disease and to develop preventive measures.