Nature Podcast |
Featured
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Nature Podcast |
Cervical cancer could be eliminated: here’s how
Two experts lay out the steps that need to be taken, and the challenges facing low- and middle-income countries.
- Nick Petrić Howe
- & Jennifer Gardiner
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Comment |
Forget lung, breast or prostate cancer: why tumour naming needs to change
The conventional way of classifying metastatic cancers according to their organ of origin is denying people access to drugs that could help them.
- Fabrice André
- , Elie Rassy
- & Benjamin Besse
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News & Views |
Natural inhibitor found for cell death by ferroptosis
The discovery that an evolutionarily conserved molecule used to make cholesterol also acts as a defence against a cell-death mechanism called ferroptosis might lead to new ways to treat cancer and other clinical conditions.
- Donna D. Zhang
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Article |
7-Dehydrocholesterol is an endogenous suppressor of ferroptosis
Proferroptotic activity of 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase is shown along with an unexpected prosurvival function of its substrate, 7-dehydrocholesterol, indicating a cell-intrinsic mechanism that could be used by cancer cells to protect phospholipids from oxidative damage and escape ferroptosis.
- Florencio Porto Freitas
- , Hamed Alborzinia
- & José Pedro Friedmann Angeli
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Article
| Open AccessMatrix viscoelasticity promotes liver cancer progression in the pre-cirrhotic liver
Structural changes mediated by advanced glycation end-products enhance extracellular matrix viscoelasticity, and that viscoelasticity can promote cancer progression in vivo, independent of stiffness.
- Weiguo Fan
- , Kolade Adebowale
- & Natalie J. Török
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Article |
7-Dehydrocholesterol dictates ferroptosis sensitivity
7-Dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC) is a natural anti-ferroptotic metabolite and pharmacological manipulation of 7-DHC levels shows promise as a therapeutic strategy for cancer and ischaemia–reperfusion injury.
- Yaxu Li
- , Qiao Ran
- & Ping Wang
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Comment |
Cervical cancer kills 300,000 people a year — here’s how to speed up its elimination
Without rapid change, the World Health Organization’s goals for tackling cervical cancer by 2030 will be missed. Four experts share ways to move the needle.
- Lynette Denny
- , Ishu Kataria
- & Kathleen M. Schmeler
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Research Highlight |
Engineered natural killer cells show their power against blood cancer
A variation on CAR T-cell therapy damps down the number of cancerous cells in people with certain types of lymphoma or leukaemia.
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News & Views |
DNA sensing and repair systems unexpectedly team up against cancer
DNA in the cytoplasm can be a sign of abnormalities such as viral infections or cancer. A protein with a role in DNA-damage response was unexpectedly found to activate defences against the threats indicated by cytoplasmic DNA.
- Silvia Monticelli
- & Petr Cejka
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Article
| Open AccessMRE11 liberates cGAS from nucleosome sequestration during tumorigenesis
The double-strand break sensor MRE11 is identified as a pivotal mediator of cGAS activation in response to multiple types of DNA damage.
- Min-Guk Cho
- , Rashmi J. Kumar
- & Gaorav P. Gupta
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News |
Scientists question cancer tests that use microscopic nematode worms
Some doctors say a troublingly high number of cancer-free people have tested positive on the tests sold by a Japanese start-up.
- David McNeill
- & Momoko Suda
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News Feature |
Nature’s 10: ten people (and one non-human) who helped shape science in 2023
An AI pioneer, an architect of India’s Moon mission and the world’s first global heat officer are some of the people behind this year’s big stories.
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News Feature |
The cancer physician who helped to deliver a life-extending treatment
Thomas Powles’s breakthrough success in treating a deadly bladder cancer could herald the next wave of powerful immunotherapeutic drugs.
- Carissa Wong
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Article |
Tumour circular RNAs elicit anti-tumour immunity by encoding cryptic peptides
The tumour-specific circular RNA FAM53B is highly immunogenic and can induce anti-tumour responses in mouse models of breast cancer and melanoma, expanding the repertoire of anticancer targets for development.
- Di Huang
- , Xiaofeng Zhu
- & Erwei Song
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News & Views |
MYC protein helps cancer to take its vitamins
Identifying nutrient dependencies of cancer cells is crucial for developing new therapies. The discovery that an aggressive type of cancer cell has a high uptake of vitamin B5 sheds light on the link between vitamin availability and tumour growth.
- Martina Wallace
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Article |
Distinct Hodgkin lymphoma subtypes defined by noninvasive genomic profiling
The potential use of circulating tumour DNA in classic Hodgkin lymphoma detection, classification and monitoring is defined.
- Stefan K. Alig
- , Mohammad Shahrokh Esfahani
- & Ash A. Alizadeh
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News & Views |
Harmful tumour–kidney interactions identified
Fatal renal dysfunction is often associated with tumour development. Fly and mouse data reveal evolutionarily conserved mechanisms that link tumours to renal failure and offer potential for future therapeutic approaches.
- Pierre Leopold
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News & Views |
15 years after a giant leap for cancer genomics
In 2008, the first comprehensive sequence of a cancer genome was reported, ushering in a new era of molecular diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic advances informed by an essential framework to understand cancer’s complexities.
- Sheng F. Cai
- & Ross L. Levine
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Article
| Open AccessTrans-vaccenic acid reprograms CD8+ T cells and anti-tumour immunity
A screen of nutrient-derived compounds identified trans-vaccenic acid as a promoter of effector T cell function, and functional assays demonstrate that this occurs via inactivation of GPR43 on T cells.
- Hao Fan
- , Siyuan Xia
- & Jing Chen
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Article |
The extracellular matrix dictates regional competence for tumour initiation
Experiments in mice show that expression of the oncogene SmoM2 induces basal cell carcinoma in the ear epidermis but not in the back skin, and that this difference in susceptibility is regulated by the extracellular matrix.
- Nordin Bansaccal
- , Pauline Vieugue
- & Cédric Blanpain
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Article |
Stepwise requirements for polymerases δ and θ in theta-mediated end joining
Polymerase delta is required for multiple steps in polymerase theta-dependent repair of chromosome breaks, a pathway targeted in cancer therapy.
- Susanna Stroik
- , Juan Carvajal-Garcia
- & Dale A. Ramsden
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Article
| Open AccessTargeting of intracellular oncoproteins with peptide-centric CARs
Peptide-centric chimeric antigen receptors (PC-CARs) provide a platform to address the challenges involved in targeting intracellular oncoproteins, and PC-CARs based on the neuroblastoma-dependency gene PHOX2B induce elimination of aggressive tumors.
- Mark Yarmarkovich
- , Quinlen F. Marshall
- & John M. Maris
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Article |
Latent human herpesvirus 6 is reactivated in CAR T cells
Genomics analyses reveal that in vitro culture of CAR T cells can lead to reactivation of a latent herpesvirus, which might be involved in complications in patients receiving associated cell therapies.
- Caleb A. Lareau
- , Yajie Yin
- & Ansuman T. Satpathy
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News & Views |
Brain cancer thrives by hijacking mechanisms to boost synapse strength
Synaptic connections between cancer cells and neurons can boost tumour growth. Analyses of brain tumours reveal how cancer cells enhance the strength of synapses with neurons to promote tumour survival.
- Matthew B. Dalva
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News |
Cancer trial results show power of weaponized antibodies
Tumour-targeting antibodies coupled with toxic chemicals are an unprecedented success in treating bladder cancer.
- Heidi Ledford
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Article |
IL-1β+ macrophages fuel pathogenic inflammation in pancreatic cancer
Single-cell and spatial gene expression analyses of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma uncover a population of interleukin-1β-expressing macrophages that drive inflammatory reprogramming of neighboring tumour cells leading to disease progression and poor prognosis for patients.
- Nicoletta Caronni
- , Federica La Terza
- & Renato Ostuni
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Article
| Open AccessEpigenetic regulation during cancer transitions across 11 tumour types
A pan-cancer epigenetic and transcriptomic atlas identifies epigenetic drivers associated with cancer transitions.
- Nadezhda V. Terekhanova
- , Alla Karpova
- & Li Ding
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Article
| Open AccessGlioma synapses recruit mechanisms of adaptive plasticity
In glioma, malignant synapses hijack mechanisms of synaptic plasticity to increase glutamate-dependent currents in tumour cells and the formation of neuron–glioma synapses, thereby promoting tumour proliferation and progression.
- Kathryn R. Taylor
- , Tara Barron
- & Michelle Monje
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Article |
Disruption of sugar nucleotide clearance is a therapeutic vulnerability of cancer cells
An enzyme called UXS1 that converts one sugar nucleotide to another is needed more in some cancer cells than in normal cells, providing a potential weakness that can be exploited therapeutically.
- Mihir B. Doshi
- , Namgyu Lee
- & Dohoon Kim
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Clinical Briefing |
An engineered virus shows potential as an immune therapy in glioblastoma
Therapies for aggressive, recurrent glioblastomas are sorely needed but frequently fail in trials. A first-in-human trial of CAN-3110, an engineered herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1), shows that it is safe and seems to extend survival and stimulate immune responses — particularly in people with antibodies to HSV1.
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Article
| Open AccessClinical trial links oncolytic immunoactivation to survival in glioblastoma
Treatment with the oncolytic herpes virus CAN-3110 is associated with improved survival responses in patients with recurrent glioblastoma, particularly in individuals who are seropositive for HSV1.
- Alexander L. Ling
- , Isaac H. Solomon
- & E. Antonio Chiocca
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News & Views |
AI rapidly diagnoses brain tumours during surgery
A machine-learning method to assess DNA can accurately classify brain tumours in real time. This rapid analysis might help surgeons to identify the tumour type when operating and to adjust their surgical strategy accordingly.
- Lissa C. Baird
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Article
| Open AccessTargeting myeloid chemotaxis to reverse prostate cancer therapy resistance
A translational study demonstrates the role of myeloid inflammatory cells in driving disease progression and treatment resistance in prostate cancer and shows that these cells can be targeted therapeutically.
- Christina Guo
- , Adam Sharp
- & Johann S. de Bono
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Article
| Open AccessUltra-fast deep-learned CNS tumour classification during surgery
Sturgeon is a pretrained neural network that uses incremental results from nanopore sequencing to rapidly classify central nervous system tumours and can be used to aid critical decision-making during surgery.
- C. Vermeulen
- , M. Pagès-Gallego
- & J. de Ridder
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Article
| Open AccessThe PTPN2/PTPN1 inhibitor ABBV-CLS-484 unleashes potent anti-tumour immunity
An orally bioavailable small-molecule active-site inhibitor of the phosphatases PTPN2 and PTPN1, ABBV-CLS-484, demonstrates immunotherapeutic efficacy in mouse models of cancer resistant to PD-1 blockade.
- Christina K. Baumgartner
- , Hakimeh Ebrahimi-Nik
- & Robert T. Manguso
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Research Briefing |
Sympathetic nerves suppress T-cell responses in infection and in cancer
T cells that are chronically stimulated in viral infection or cancer enter a dysfunctional state known as T-cell exhaustion. Sympathetic nerves in tissues and tumours drive T-cell exhaustion through the action of the neurotransmitter noradrenaline on the β1-adrenergic receptors of T cells, with implications for cancer treatment.
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Nature Podcast |
Why does cancer spread to the spine? Newly discovered stem cells might be the key
A stem cell vital for vertebral growth also drives spine metastases, and the use of MDMA in the treatment of PTSD.
- Benjamin Thompson
- & Shamini Bundell
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Article |
Reductive carboxylation epigenetically instructs T cell differentiation
Reductive carboxylation of glutamine by isocitrate dehydrogenase 2 (IDH2) has a role in determining the fate of T cells, and inhibiting this enzyme promotes the differentiation of memory T cells.
- Alison Jaccard
- , Tania Wyss
- & Mathias Wenes
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News |
Super-precise CRISPR tool enters US clinical trials for the first time
Base editing, which makes specific changes to a cell’s genome, is put to the test in CAR-T-cell treatments for leukaemia.
- Heidi Ledford
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News & Views |
Stem cells provide clues to why vertebrae attract tumour cells
Tumour cells tend to migrate to the vertebrae rather than to long bones, but the mechanism underlying this has been unclear. It emerges that the stem cells from which vertebrae are derived make a factor that attracts tumour cells.
- Geert Carmeliet
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News |
Breast cancer often spreads to the spine — newfound stem cell can explain why
A stem cell that contributes to vertebra formation also encourages the growth of tumours that move to the backbone from elsewhere.
- Saima Sidik
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Article |
A vertebral skeletal stem cell lineage driving metastasis
Vertebral osteoblasts in mouse and human are formed from a precursor skeletal stem cell population that is distinct from long bone skeletal stem cells in function, location and transcriptional programme.
- Jun Sun
- , Lingling Hu
- & Matthew B. Greenblatt
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Nature Video |
How to supercharge T cells against cancer
For over a decade immunologist Lionel Apetoh has been working on how to improve T cells' cancer fighting abilities.
- Nick Petrić Howe
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Nature Index |
Global leaders in science’s battle against cancer
A look at the key research institutions, funders and collaborations that are driving the field forward.
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Nature Index |
African scientists call for research equity as a cancer crisis looms
Rising death rates are defying global trends but the continent’s researchers are keen to lead the fightback.
- Linda Nordling
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Nature Index |
Ukraine seeks to resume its role in cancer clinical trials
The country was making a key contribution before Russia’s invasion.
- Rachel Nuwer
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Nature Index |
The gross imbalances of cancer research must be addressed
A zealous focus on discovery should not come at the expense of improving basic intervention.
- Richard Sullivan
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Nature Index |
A guide to the Nature Index
A description of the terminology and methodology used in this supplement, and a guide to the functionality that is available free online at natureindex.com.
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Nature Index |
Four ways research aims to outwit cancer’s evasion tactics
From AI-enabled drug discovery to therapeutic vaccines, science is opening up fresh angles of attack against the disease.
- Michael Eisenstein
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