Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology (original) (raw)
Featured
Spatial landscapes of cancers: insights and opportunities
Solid tumours are complex ecosystems comprising many different cell types with spatially structured arrangement. The authors of the Review describe how single-cell and spatial profiling tools have been applied to understand the cellular architecture of the tumour microenvironment. These approaches have potential to improve the way cancer is diagnosed and treated.
- Julia Chen
- Ludvig Larsson
- Joakim Lundeberg
Review Article23 Jul 2024 
Targeting chromosomal instability in patients with cancer
Chromosomal instability (CIN) is a dynamic phenotype characterized by changes in chromosome number and structure and is a hallmark of clinically aggressive malignancies. Nonetheless, the ability of cancer cells to tolerate CIN creates several potential therapeutic vulnerabilities. In this Review, the authors describe the development of CIN and how this phenotype promotes carcinogenesis and tumour progression as well as describing the various attempts to develop targeted therapies based on the specific vulnerabilities of these tumours.
- Duaa H. Al-Rawi
- Emanuele Lettera
- Samuel F. Bakhoum
Review Article11 Jul 2024 
HER2-targeted therapies beyond breast cancer — an update
Anti-HER2 therapy has revolutionized the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer. However, HER2 has emerged as a driver of various other cancers and the indications for HER2-targeted therapy have expanded to include diverse HER2-overexpressing as well as HER2-mutant tumour types beyond breast cancer, facilitated by the advent of novel agents with greater potency and distinct mechanisms of action. Some of these agents have demonstrated promising activity even against HER2-low cancers. Herein, Yoon and Oh describe the landscape of HER2 alterations and HER2-targeted drug development beyond breast cancer. They also discuss new insights into mechanisms of resistance and potential strategies by which they might be overcome.
- Jeesun Yoon
- Do-Youn Oh
Review Article22 Jul 2024
Announcements
Article freely available this month
The article "Tumour mutational burden: clinical utility, challenges and emerging improvements" from J. Budczies et al. will be freely available while the October 2024 issue is featured on the journal's homepage
Cancer epidemiology
In this Collection, you can find the latest articles published in Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology that discuss trends in cancer incidence and mortality.
Latest Reviews & Analysis
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Since the publication of the first issue of Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, we have witnessed advances in multiple research areas that have culminated in improved outcomes for many cancer types, although substantial unmet needs remain for a majority of patients worldwide. Here, we have asked experts in several key specialities to reflect on the progress from the past 20 years and propose the next steps to enable further advances. Although we are aware that this Viewpoint cannot provide full coverage of the vast field that is clinical oncology, we hope that these messages inspire a diverse range of readers.
Molecular imaging supports the development of multispecific cancer antibodies
Multispecific antibody constructs that bind several distinct targets can connect cells and/or simultaneously target multiple molecules. Here, Lub-de Hooge et al. discuss the varied contributions of molecular imaging to multispecific antibody design, drug development and optimization, including evaluations of antibody biodistribution and pharmacological complexity.
Neoadjuvant immunotherapy for dMMR and pMMR colorectal cancers: therapeutic strategies and putative biomarkers of response
Locally advanced colorectal cancers (CRCs) with DNA mismatch repair deficiency have sensitivity to immune-checkpoint inhibitors, and evidence suggests that this is also the case for a proportion of proficient DNA mismatch repair CRCs. The authors of this Review describe the emerging clinical evidence supporting the use of neoadjuvant immune-checkpoint inhibitors in patients with CRC and discuss how clinical research (including on biomarkers) can be used to improve clinical outcomes in this setting.
Dual HER2 inhibition: mechanisms of synergy, patient selection, and resistance
Patients with HER2+ breast cancer often respond to trastuzumab, although acquired resistance is common and can involve a range of mechanisms. reflecting the highly heterogeneous biology of this breast cancer subtype. In this Review, the authors describe the role of dual HER2 blockade, involving the co-administration of two HER2-targeted therapies (including monoclonal antibodies, tyrosine kinase inhibitors and antibody–drug conjugates) in patients with HER2+ breast cancer.
The age of foundation models
The development of clinically relevant artificial intelligence (AI) models has traditionally required access to extensive labelled datasets, which inevitably centre AI advances around large centres and private corporations. Data availability has also dictated the development of AI applications: most studies focus on common cancer types, and leave rare diseases behind. However, this paradigm is changing with the advent of foundation models, which enable the training of more powerful and robust AI systems using much smaller datasets.
