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Two papers have revealed new roles of exosomes in cancer progression: as mediators of therapeutic resistance signals from the stroma and as microRNA generators.
Two papers describe the evolution and heterogeneity of non-small-cell lung cancers by carrying out sequencing of samples from multiple tumour regions, with interesting conclusions and raising challenges for the future.
The TYRO3, AXL and MERTK (TAM) family of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are overexpressed in tumour cells, promoting cell survival and chemoresistance. These RTKs also function in normal innate immune cells to promote an immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment. Thus, TAM RTKs are implicated as dual therapeutic targets in cancer.
Recent analyses of cancer genomes have revealed the occurrence of mutation patterns, which indicate their source. This Review discusses what we have learned, and what is yet to learn, from these data and how our current understanding of cancer mutations fits into our understanding of tumorigenesis and tumour progression.
The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that is best known for mediating the toxicity and tumour-promoting properties of dioxin. AHR levels are increased with constitutive nuclear localization in many tumours. How might AHR facilitate tumour progression, and can it be therapeutically modulated?
Falleret al. have shown that intestinal cells lacking APC require mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) signalling for tumour formation, but that it is translation elongation controlled by mTORC1 (and not translation initiation) that is important in these cells.
Cheunget al. show that the protein encoded by a common mutation in PIK3R1(the p85α subunit of PI3K) has neomorphic functions, including nuclear localization and the activation of ERK and JNK signalling, which can promote tumour cell proliferation and survival. Furthermore, tumours expressing this mutation are sensitive to MEK and JNK inhibitors.
This Science and Society article outlines the burden of preventable cancers in selected less-developed-region countries (LDCs) and discusses evidence on cost-effective and widely implementable prevention and screening strategies. As LDCs typically have poor resources to treat cancers, the authors argue that investment in sustainable cancer prevention and screening strategies would be the best option to reduce cancer-related mortality in most LDCs.
The knowledge and tools to effectively treat many cancer patients exist in developed countries but are unavailable to many who live in the developing world. This Science and Society article uses the example of Rwanda's expanding national cancer programme to discuss how cancer care can be brought to low-income countries that are considerably resource-constrained.
