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Genetic modeling of ELP1-associated Sonic hedgehog medulloblastoma identifies MDM2 as a selective therapeutic target Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-05-15 Shiekh Tanveer Ahmad, Yiran Li, Jesus Garcia-Lopez, Brian L. Gudenas, Jennifer Hadley, Leena Paul, Stephanie C. Wu, Alaa Refaat, Marija Kojic, Melissa Batts, Taha Soliman, Aaron Pitre, Frederik Arnskötter, Frederique Zindy, Alun Jones, Nathaniel R. Twarog, Anand Mayasundari, Brandon Bianski, Christopher Tinkle, Abbas Shirinifard, Paul A. Northcott
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Isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 primes group-3 medulloblastomas for cuproptosis Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-05-15 Derek Dang, Akash Deogharkar, John McKolay, Kyle S. Smith, Pooja Panwalkar, Simon Hoffman, Wentao Tian, Sunjong Ji, Ana P. Azambuja, Siva Kumar Natarajan, Joanna Lum, Jill Bayliss, Katie Manzeck, Stefan R. Sweha, Erin Hamanishi, Matthew Pun, Diya Patel, Sagar Rau, Olamide Animasahun, Abhinav Achreja, Sriram Venneti
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Stromal barriers to the abscopal effect Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-05-12 Tian V. Tian, Silvia Affò
In this issue of Cancer Cell, Zhang et al. reveal that PAI-1-induced SFRP2high cancer-associated fibroblasts reduce the abscopal effect of radioimmunotherapy. Targeting PAI-1 or SFRP2 enhances T cell recruitment and prevents the formation of an immunosuppressive perivascular niche, improving radioimmunotherapy’s abscopal effect.
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Acquired semi-squamatization during chemotherapy suggests differentiation as a therapeutic strategy for bladder cancer Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-05-12 Manli Wang, Xuelan Chen, Ping Tan, Yiyun Wang, Xiangyu Pan, Tianhai Lin, Yong Jiang, Bo Wang, Huan Xu, Yuying Wang, Yucen Yang, Jian Wang, Lei Zhao, Jiapeng Zhang, Ailing Zhong, Yiman Peng, Jiajia Du, Qi Zhang, Jianan Zheng, Jingyao Chen, Chong Chen
(Cancer Cell 40, 1044–1059.e1–e8; September 12, 2022)
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Endothelial CCR2 Signaling Induced by Colon Carcinoma Cells Enables Extravasation via the JAK2-Stat5 and p38MAPK Pathway Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-05-12 Monika Julia Wolf, Alexandra Hoos, Judith Bauer, Steffen Boettcher, Markus Knust, Achim Weber, Nicole Simonavicius, Christoph Schneider, Matthias Lang, Michael Stürzl, Roland S. Croner, Andreas Konrad, Markus G. Manz, Holger Moch, Adriano Aguzzi, Geert van Loo, Manolis Pasparakis, Marco Prinz, Lubor Borsig, Mathias Heikenwalder
(Cancer Cell 22, 91–105; July 10, 2012)
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Immune evolution in pre-invasive lung adenocarcinoma Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-05-08 Adithya Balasubramanian, Marie-Liesse Asselin-Labat
The mechanisms governing the progression of precursor lesions to invasive lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remain poorly understood. In this issue of Cancer Cell, Zhu et al. map the dynamic immune changes associated with this progression using high-resolution spatial mapping. Their identification of TIM-3 as a potential target may shift strategies for LUAD immunoprevention.
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Immunosequencing identifies signatures of T cell responses for early detection of nasopharyngeal carcinoma Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-05-08 Shanshan Zhang, Yan Zhou, Zhonghua Liu, Yuqian Wang, Xiang Zhou, Haiwen Chen, Xinyu Zhang, Yanhong Chen, Qisheng Feng, Xiaoping Ye, Shanghang Xie, Mu-Sheng Zeng, Weiwei Zhai, Yi-Xin Zeng, Sumei Cao, Guideng Li, Miao Xu
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Understanding and reversing mammary tumor-driven reprogramming of myelopoiesis to reduce metastatic spread Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-05-08 Hannah Garner, Moreno Martinovic, Ning Qing Liu, Noor A.M. Bakker, Irene Querol Velilla, Cheei-Sing Hau, Kim Vrijland, Daphne Kaldenbach, Marleen Kok, Elzo de Wit, Karin E. de Visser
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Regulating the fate of tumor-associated macrophages Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-05-08 Elina Timosenko, Dmitry I. Gabrilovich
Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are key players in tumor progression, yet their role in this process remains only partially understood. In this issue of Cancer Cell, Sheban et al. demonstrate that zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 2 (ZEB2) acts as a master regulator that reprograms TAMs toward a pro-tumor phenotype and that therapeutic targeting of ZEB2 exhibits anti-tumor activity.
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Brain metastasis: From etiology to ecotypes Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-05-08 Michael Schulz, Marco Prinz
Despite recent advances in anti-cancer therapies, metastasis, especially to the brain, represents a major clinical challenge with rising incidences. In this issue of Cancer Cell, Xing et al. present a comprehensive transcriptomic map of the metastatic brain tumor environment at single-cell resolution.
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Spatial and multiomics analysis of human and mouse lung adenocarcinoma precursors reveals TIM-3 as a putative target for precancer interception Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-05-08 Bo Zhu, Pingjun Chen, Muhammad Aminu, Jian-Rong Li, Junya Fujimoto, Yanhua Tian, Lingzhi Hong, Hong Chen, Xin Hu, Chenyang Li, Natalie Vokes, Andre L. Moreira, Don L. Gibbons, Luisa M. Solis Soto, Edwin Roger Parra Cuentas, Ou Shi, Songhui Diao, Jie Ye, Frank R. Rojas, Eduardo Vilar, Anirban Maitra, Ken Chen, Nicolas Navin, Monique Nilsson, Beibei Huang, Simon Heeke, Jianhua Zhang, Cara L. Haymaker
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TAMing immunity through an unexpected source Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-05-01 Ian Vogel, Sagar P. Bapat
Arginine availability and metabolism critically shape tumor-immune interactions. In this issue of Cancer Cell, Zhu et al. demonstrate that breast cancer-cell-derived arginine synthesized via ASS1 fuels macrophage polyamine synthesis, reinforcing immunosuppressive tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). Mechanistically, this occurs through TDG/p53-dependent DNA demethylation and activation of PPARG.
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Stromal lipid species dictate melanoma metastasis and tropism Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-24 Shilpa Gurung, Timothy Budden, Karthik Mallela, Benjamin Jenkins, Alex von Kriegsheim, Esperanza Manrique, David Millán-Esteban, Isabel Romero-Camarero, Fabio Amaral, Sarah Craig, Pedro Durao, Joanna Pozniak, Laura Stennett, Duncan Smith, Garry Ashton, Alex Baker, Kang Zeng, Gilbert Fruhwirth, Victoria Sanz-Moreno, Jair Marques, Amaya Virós
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KMT2C deficiency drives transdifferentiation of double-negative prostate cancer and confer resistance to AR-targeted therapy Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-24 Jiacheng Guo, Ni Li, Qiuli Liu, Zongyao Hao, Guanghui Zhu, Xuege Wang, Hanling Wang, Qiang Pan, Beitao Xu, Ying Han, Guoying Zhang, Yannan Lian, Wei Zhang, Yongqiang Gu, Naiheng Lin, Xin Zeng, Zige Jin, Weihua Lan, Jun Jiang, Dong Gao, Jun Qin
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Bone metastases diminish extraosseous response to checkpoint blockade immunotherapy through osteopontin-producing osteoclasts Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-24 Jia-Nan Cheng, Zheng Jin, Chunxia Su, Tao Jiang, Xiaobin Zheng, Jinming Guo, Xingyi Li, Han Chu, Jia Jia, Qin Zhou, Xiaofang Ding, Yiwen Zhang, Shouxia Xu, Fancong Dong, Qiao Zhang, Xinxin Yang, Tao Yang, Xiaoming Cheng, Haoran Zha, Degao Chen, Yisong Y. Wan, Xindong Liu, Lilin Ye, Haidong Tang, Alistair L.J. Symonds, Qi-Jing Li, Qingzhu Jia, Bo Zhu
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Easing cisplatin’s toll in nasopharyngeal carcinoma Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-24 Michael J. Dennis, Ravindra Uppaluri
Anti-PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitors improve outcomes in relapsed/metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). In this issue of Cancer Cell, Xu et al. achieved favorable outcomes by incorporating nivolumab into standard therapy for locally advanced NPC while removing chemotherapy from the radiation phase. This regimen offers a promising approach to reducing treatment-related toxicities.
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Ribosomal rebellion: When protein factories drive cancer progression Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-24 Qiushuang Wu, Sohail F. Tavazoie
In Cancer Cell, two studies unveil mechanisms by which co-option of the protein synthesis machinery promotes cancer progression and potential therapeutic interventions. Kuzuoglu-Ozturk et al. show that eIF4A-mediated enhancement of oncogenic transcript translation initiation drives cancer progression, while Weller et al. demonstrate how aberrant transfer RNA (tRNA) modification disrupts translational
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Learning the language of T cell receptors through large-scale screening Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-17 Živa Moravec, John B.A.G. Haanen, Ton N. Schumacher, Wouter Scheper
T cells perform critical roles in orchestrating immunity in health and disease. However, decoding what individual T cells recognize has long been challenging due to the immense diversity of both T cell receptors (TCRs) and potential antigens. Recent advances in high-throughput TCR screening approaches now provide an opportunity to map the antigen specificity landscape of T cells with unprecedented
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Complexity of insulin resistance in early-onset colorectal cancer Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-17 Samson Mathews Samuel, Elizabeth Varghese, Dietrich Büsselberg
Early-life exposure to lifestyle-associated metabolic alterations could be a key contributor to early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC). Notably, insulin resistance (InsR)-linked hyperinsulinemia, elevated levels of insulin-like growth factors, and chronic inflammation could trigger EOCRC by modulating gene expression/pathways that support carcinogenesis/anti-apoptosis. Here, we discuss how InsR could
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AI-driven predictive biomarker discovery with contrastive learning to improve clinical trial outcomes Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-17 Gustavo Arango-Argoty, Damian E. Bikiel, Gerald J. Sun, Elly Kipkogei, Kaitlin M. Smith, Sebastian Carrasco Pro, Elizabeth Y. Choe, Etai Jacob
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Circular RMST cooperates with lineage-driving transcription factors to govern neuroendocrine transdifferentiation Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-17 Mona Teng, Jiacheng Guo, Xin Xu, Xinpei Ci, Yulin Mo, Yakup Kohen, Zuyao Ni, Sujun Chen, Wang Yuan Guo, Martin Bakht, Shengyu Ku, Michael Sigouros, Wenqin Luo, Colette Maya Macarios, Ziting Xia, Moliang Chen, Sami Ul Haq, Wen Yang, Alejandro Berlin, Theo van der Kwast, Housheng Hansen He
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Cell death, IL-1 cytokines, and tumor progression Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-17 Long Cheng, Ying Zhang
Tumor cell death shapes tumorigenesis and antitumor immunity in complex ways. Recently, Hänggi et al. revealed that necrotic-like death releases interleukin-1α (IL-1α), driving myeloid-mediated immunosuppression. Lamorte et al. demonstrated that medullary sinus macrophage (MSM) efferocytosis of apoptotic tumor cells activates the IL-33-regulatory T cell (Treg) axis, accelerating tumor growth. Blocking
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A circular RNA in neuroendocrine carcinomas Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-17 Yixiang Li, Matthew G. Oser
In this issue of Cancer Cell, Teng et al. discover that small cell lung cancer and neuroendocrine prostate cancer highly express a circular RNA known as circRMST. They show that circRMST is necessary for these neuroendocrine cancers to promote their ASCL1-positive neuroendocrine phenotype through binding lineage transcription factors that promote ASCL1 expression.
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Bridging the gap: The future of cancer research and clinical oncology in Cancer Cell Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-14 Steve Mao
Section snippets Main textOver the past five years, Cancer Cell has undergone a transformative evolution, reflecting the increasing multidisciplinary and integrative nature of cancer research. As editor-in-chief, it has been both a privilege and a profound responsibility to guide this journal through a period of significant change and growth, ensuring that it remains at the forefront of cancer research
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Many paths, one destination: Bridging the gap in cancer care Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-14 Erik Sahai, Hongxia Wang, Marleen Kok, Catherine J. Wu, Lin Shen, John Carpten, César Serrano, Varun Venkataramani
This special issue of Cancer Cell is dedicated to “bridging the gap between foundational cancer biology and clinical oncology.” We asked scientists and clinicians to give us a brief “state of the field,” discussing the integration of new technologies, the importance of patient-centric approaches, the need for innovative clinical trial designs, and how fostering teamwork and inclusive research can help
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Precision oncology and genetic ancestry: The science behind population-based cancer disparities Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-14 Melissa Boneta Davis, Rachel Martini
Precision oncology has transformed cancer care but has barely benefited patients of diverse ancestry. Historically, self-reported race/ethnicity has served as a surrogate for biological differences, but genetic ancestry provides a more precise framework for understanding genetic drivers of cancer disparities, including associations between ancestry and tumor subtypes, and genetic variants affecting
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CAR-T therapy in solid tumors Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-14 Bing Du, Juliang Qin, Boxu Lin, Jiqin Zhang, Dali Li, Mingyao Liu
While chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has shown great success in hematologic malignancies, the effectiveness in solid tumors has been limited by several factors, including antigenic heterogeneity and the immunosuppressive nature of the tumor microenvironment (TME). In this review, we discuss the advancements made in clinical studies and challenges faced by CAR-T therapy for solid tumors
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New horizons at the interface of artificial intelligence and translational cancer research Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-14 Josephine Yates, Eliezer M. Van Allen
Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being utilized in cancer research as a computational strategy for analyzing multiomics datasets. Advances in single-cell and spatial profiling technologies have contributed significantly to our understanding of tumor biology, and AI methodologies are now being applied to accelerate translational efforts, including target discovery, biomarker identification
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Spatial determinants of antibody-drug conjugate SHR-A1811 efficacy in neoadjuvant treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-10 Ding Ma, Lei-Jie Dai, Xiang-Rong Wu, Cheng-Lin Liu, Shen Zhao, Hang Zhang, Li Chen, Yi Xiao, Ming Li, Yi-Zhi Zhao, Lin Yang, Tong Zhou, Jun-Jie Li, Wen-Tao Yang, Yi-Zhou Jiang, Zhi-Ming Shao
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AI-driven biomarkers for antibody-drug conjugates Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-10 Sherene Loi, Roberto Salgado
Currently, no biomarker reliably predicts the efficacy of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). In this issue of Cancer Cell, Ma et al. present a predictive model for HER2-targeting ADC efficacy, incorporating immune-system components, hormone receptor status, clinical staging, and HER2+ cell proportion.
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Pan-cancer human brain metastases atlas at single-cell resolution Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-10 Xudong Xing, Jian Zhong, Jana Biermann, Hao Duan, Xinyu Zhang, Yu Shi, Yixin Gao, Kejun He, Duanyang Zhai, Feng Luo, Yanxing Lai, Feizhe Xiao, Wenying Wang, Mengru Wang, Jianguo Xu, Hao Liu, Jiaze Tang, Liangzhao Chu, Tunan Chen, Edridge K. D’Souza, Fan Bai
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ZEB2 is a master switch controlling the tumor-associated macrophage program Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-10 Fadi Sheban, Truong San Phan, Ken Xie, Florian Ingelfinger, Chamutal Gur, Yuval Shapir Itai, Ronnie Blecher-Gonen, Chunsong Yu, Roberto Avellino, Paulina Chalan, Kiara Freitag, Ido Yofe, Vladimir Yutkin, Pierre Boyeau, Can Ergen, Justin Hong, Kfir Mazuz, Yuxiao Liu, Kangming Chen, Rony Dahan, Ido Amit
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Radiotherapy promotes cuproptosis and synergizes with cuproptosis inducers to overcome tumor radioresistance Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-10 Guang Lei, Mingchuang Sun, Jun Cheng, Rui Ye, Zhengze Lu, Amber Horbath, David Huo, Shengrong Wu, Anagha Alapati, Sadhna Aggarwal, Zhihao Xu, Chao Mao, Yuelong Yan, Jun Yao, Qidong Li, Xiong Chen, Hyemin Lee, Li Zhuang, Dadi Jiang, Apar Pataer, Jack A. Roth, Nicholas Navin, Albert C. Koong, Mingjian James You, Steven H. Lin, Boyi Gan
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Neoadjuvant toripalimab plus nimotuzumab combined with taxol-based chemotherapy in locally advanced penile squamous cell carcinoma Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-10 Xin An, Sheng Jie Guo, Ru Yan, Ting Xue, Long Bin Xiong, Hua Li Ma, Cong Xue, Ying Chun Zhang, Ji Bin Li, Mei Ting Chen, Zai Shang Li, Ting Yu Liu, Zhi Ling Zhang, Pei Dong, Yong Hong Li, Kai Yao, Zhi Quan Hu, Xiao Feng Chen, Jie Xin Luo, Yong Hong Lei, Hui Han
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Spatial transcriptomics reveals tryptophan metabolism restricting maturation of intratumoral tertiary lymphoid structures Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-03 Zhonghui Tang, Yinqi Bai, Qi Fang, Yuchen Yuan, Qianwen Zeng, Shuling Chen, Tianyi Xu, Jianyu Chen, Li Tan, Chunqing Wang, Qian Li, Jinpei Lin, Zhuoxuan Yang, Xia Wu, Guowei Shi, Ji Wang, Changjun Yin, Jianping Guo, Shiping Liu, Sui Peng, Ming Kuang
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Cancer cell-derived arginine fuels polyamine biosynthesis in tumor-associated macrophages to promote immune evasion Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-03 Yinghua Zhu, Ziwei Zhou, Xin Du, Xiaorong Lin, Zhi-Mei Liang, Si Chen, Yiwei Sun, Yue Wang, Zhenkun Na, Zhiyong Wu, Jiaxin Zhong, Beinan Han, Xiangping Zhu, Wenkui Fu, Hongde Li, Man-Li Luo, Hai Hu
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The Terry Fox Research Institute Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network: A pan-Canadian precision oncology initiative Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-03 The Terry Fox Research Institute Marathon of Hope Cancer Centers Network, Tess Aalto, Maria Abacan, Shirin Abadi, Farnoosh Abbas Aghababazadeh, Zeinab Abbaszadeh, Albiruni Abdul Razak, Safa Abdulsalam, Dor David Abelman, Armita Abolghasemi, Anju Abraham, Rohan Abraham, Behram C. Acar, Adriana Aguilar-Mahecha, Mozhdeh Ahanfeshar-Adams, Sinead Aherne, Zohreh Ahmadi, Syed A.K. Shifat Ahmed, Laurie Ailles
The Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network (MOHCCN), led by the Terry Fox Research Institute and the Terry Fox Foundation, unites researchers, clinicians, patients, funders, and other partners across Canada to accelerate precision oncology, promote collaboration and data sharing, and ultimately improve patient outcomes. This overview outlines the Network’s goals, history, and challenges and opportunities
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Proteogenomic characterization of non-functional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors unravels clinically relevant subgroups Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-03 Shunrong Ji, Lihua Cao, Jing Gao, Yang Du, Zeng Ye, Xin Lou, Fen Liu, Yehan Zhang, Junfeng Xu, Xiaohan Shi, Huan Wang, Penghao Li, Yikai Li, Hongxu Chen, Zhicheng Yang, Suizhi Gao, Wuhu Zhang, Dan Huang, Shujuan Ni, Miaoyan Wei, Fei Wang, Yan Wang, Tian Ding, Desheng Jing, Guixiong Fan, Zhiyun Gong, Renquan Lu, Yi Qin, Jie Chen, Xiaowu Xu, Pei Wang, Bing Zhang, Li Ding, Ana I. Robles, Henry Rodriguez
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Diet-microbiome interactions in cancer Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-04-03 Suhaib K. Abdeen, Ignacio Mastandrea, Nina Stinchcombe, Jens Puschhof, Eran Elinav
Diet impacts cancer in diverse manners. Multiple nutritional effects on tumors are mediated by dietary modulation of commensals, residing in mucosal surfaces and possibly also within the tumor microenvironment. Mechanistically understanding such diet-microbiome-host interactions may enable to develop precision nutritional interventions impacting cancer development, dissemination, and treatment responses
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All-trans retinoic acid beyond acute promyelocytic leukemia Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-03-27 Usama-Ur Rehman, Michael Lübbert
All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), a known regulator of hematopoiesis, is a key component of the established therapeutic regimen for treating acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). In this issue of Cancer Cell, Mosialou et al. present a niche-based mechanism of ATRA targeting osteoblasts, repurposing ATRA treatment beyond APL.
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A niche driven mechanism determines response and a mutation-independent therapeutic approach for myeloid malignancies Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-03-27 Ioanna Mosialou, Abdullah M. Ali, Rossella Labella, Brygida Bisikirska, Alvaro Cuesta-Dominguez, Paraskevi Vgenopoulou, Ismarc Reyes, Sanjana M. Rao, Anqi Wang, Na Luo, Marta Galan-Diez, Junfei Zhao, Brian J. Chernak, Jan Philipp Bewersdorf, Kazuya Fukasawa, Jiayu Su, Jason Higa, Rachel A. Adams, Adam L. Corper, Sergey Pampou, Stavroula Kousteni
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Translation dysregulation in cancer as a source for targetable antigens Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-03-27 Chen Weller, Osnat Bartok, Christopher S. McGinnis, Heyilimu Palashati, Tian-Gen Chang, Dmitry Malko, Merav D. Shmueli, Asuteka Nagao, Deborah Hayoun, Ayaka Murayama, Yuriko Sakaguchi, Panagiotis Poulis, Aseel Khatib, Bracha Erlanger Avigdor, Sagi Gordon, Sapir Cohen Shvefel, Marie J. Zemanek, Morten M. Nielsen, Sigalit Boura-Halfon, Shira Sagie, Yardena Samuels
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Conserved spatial subtypes and cellular neighborhoods of cancer-associated fibroblasts revealed by single-cell spatial multi-omics Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-03-27 Yunhe Liu, Ansam Sinjab, Jimin Min, Guangchun Han, Francesca Paradiso, Yuanyuan Zhang, Ruiping Wang, Guangsheng Pei, Yibo Dai, Yang Liu, Kyung Serk Cho, Enyu Dai, Akshay Basi, Jared K. Burks, Kimal I. Rajapakshe, Yanshuo Chu, Jiahui Jiang, Daiwei Zhang, Xinmiao Yan, Paola A. Guerrero, Linghua Wang
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The discrete charm of oncolytic viruses: Toward the finish line Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-03-27 Pedro R. Lowenstein, Maria Luisa Varela, Maria G. Castro
Oncolytic viruses (OVs) are being optimized to treat cancer, including brain, ovarian, lung, and pancreatic tumors. Recent advances include replicating adenoviruses and herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) armed with therapeutic transgenes, combined with serial injections and systemic delivery via retargeting, as achieved for adeno-associated virus 9 (AAV9). Clinical trials are showing promising efficacy
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Leveraging real-world data to advance biomarker discovery and precision oncology Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-03-27 Jiaqian Luo, David B. Solit
Precision oncology is predicated on the availability of robust biomarkers deployed at scale at the point of care. Although simple in conception, precision oncology often fails in practice because of the limitations of current diagnostic platforms, the emergence of drug resistance, and an incomplete understanding of cancer pathogenesis and the host immune response. Here, we discuss using real-world
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Advocating for change—Integration of efforts across the drug discovery and development continuum Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-03-27 Timothy P. Heffernan, Giulio F. Draetta
In recent decades, we’ve witnessed tremendous advances in oncology with an increase in drug approvals across various modalities and indications, enabled by breakthroughs in personalized medicine, fundamental discoveries in cancer biology, advances in biotechnology, and the growing power of data science. Cancer, however, remains the leading cause of death worldwide, highlighting the need for a transformative
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Navigating established and emerging biomarkers for immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-03-27 Stephen L. Wang, Timothy A. Chan
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have improved outcomes of patients with many different cancers. These antibodies target molecules such as programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) or cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) which normally function to limit immune activity. Treatment with ICIs reactivates T cells to destroy tumor cells in a highly specific manner, which in some patients, results
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Of HIFs and hERVs: Neoantigen generation in kidney cancer Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-03-20 Nicholas J. Salgia, Nazli Dizman, Sumanta K. Pal
New evidence published in Cell provides insight into the interplay between hypoxia-inducible factor activity and downstream neoantigen production in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Jiang et al. show that HIF2α regulates expression of immunogenic human endogenous retroelements, with implications for antitumor immunity and immunotherapy responsiveness in ccRCC.
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Neoadjuvant immune checkpoint therapy: Enabling insights into fundamental human immunology and clinical benefit Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-03-20 Kristen E. Pauken, Omar Alhalabi, Sangeeta Goswami, Padmanee Sharma
While immune checkpoint therapy (ICT) has revolutionized cancer treatment, most patients with advanced disease fail to achieve durable benefit. To address this challenge, it is essential to integrate mechanistic research with clinical studies to: (1) understand response mechanisms, (2) identify patient-specific resistance pathways, (3) develop biomarkers for patient selection, and (4) design novel
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Horizontal mitochondrial transfer in cancer biology: Potential clinical relevance Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-03-20 Michael V. Berridge, Renata Zobalova, Stepana Boukalova, Andrés Caicedo, Stuart A. Rushworth, Jiri Neuzil
Recent research highlights horizontal mitochondrial transfer as a key biological phenomenon linked to cancer onset and progression. The transfer of mitochondria and their genomes between cancer and non-cancer cells shifts our understanding of intercellular gene trafficking, increasing the metabolic fitness of cancer cells and modulating antitumor immune responses. This process not only facilitates
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Small-molecule RNA therapeutics to target prostate cancer Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-03-20 Duygu Kuzuoglu-Ozturk, Hao G. Nguyen, Lingru Xue, Emma Figueredo, Vishvak Subramanyam, Isabelle Liu, Kenya Bonitto, Ashish Noronha, Adrianna Dabrowska, Janet E. Cowan, Juan A. Oses-Prieto, Alma L. Burlingame, Stephen T. Worland, Peter R. Carroll, Davide Ruggero
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Turning the kaleidoscope: Innovations shaping the future of clinical trial design Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-03-13 Grégoire Marret, Mercedes Herrera, Lillian L. Siu
Current clinical trials are based on rigid designs and drug-centric approaches that can stifle flexibility and innovation. With advances in molecular biology and technology, there is an urgent call to revitalize trial designs to meet these evolving demands. We propose a reshaped, prismatic vision of clinical trials combining different knowledge layers, synergized with modern computational approaches
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Effective targeting of PDGFRA-altered high-grade glioma with avapritinib Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-03-13 Lisa Mayr, Sina Neyazi, Kallen Schwark, Maria Trissal, Alexander Beck, Jenna Labelle, Sebastian K. Eder, Liesa Weiler-Wichtl, Joana G. Marques, Carlos A.O. de Biagi-Junior, Costanza Lo Cascio, Owen Chapman, Sunita Sridhar, Rishaan Kenkre, Aditi Dutta, Shanqing Wang, Jessica Wang, Olivia Hack, Andrezza Nascimento, Cuong M. Nguyen, Sophia Castellani, Jacob S. Rozowsky, Andrew Groves, Eshini Panditharatna
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Distinct CD8+ T cell dynamics associate with response to neoadjuvant cancer immunotherapies Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-03-13 Housaiyin Li, Dan P. Zandberg, Aditi Kulkarni, Simion I. Chiosea, Patricia M. Santos, Brian R. Isett, Marion Joy, Gabriel L. Sica, Kevin J. Contrera, Curtis M. Tatsuoka, Matthias Brand, Umamaheswar Duvvuri, Seungwon Kim, Mark Kubik, Shaum Sridharan, Fei Tu, Jie Chen, Tullia C. Bruno, Dario A.A. Vignali, Anthony R. Cillo, Riyue Bao, Jing Hong Wang, Lazar Vujanovic, Robert L. Ferris
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PAI-1-driven SFRP2high cancer-associated fibroblasts hijack the abscopal effect of radioimmunotherapy Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-03-13 Yan-Pei Zhang, Ze-Qin Guo, Xiao-Ting Cai, Zi-Xuan Rong, Yuan Fang, Jia-Qi Chen, Kui-Mao Zhuang, Min-Jie Ruan, Si-Cong Ma, Le-Yi Lin, Duan-Duan Han, Yang-Si Li, Yuan-Yuan Wang, Jian Wang, Chuan-Hui Cao, Xin-Ran Tang, Qian-Kun Xie, Yue Chen, Yan Lin, Jia-Le Tan, Zhong-Yi Dong
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Targeting brain macrophages: NF-κB as a therapeutic gateway in melanoma brain metastasis Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-03-10 Martina Molgora, Marco Colonna
Melanoma brain metastasis (MBM) is associated with poor prognosis. In this issue of Cancer Cell, Rodriguez-Baena et al. identify nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) (Rela) as a driver of pro-tumoral microglia in MBM. While Rela deletion reprograms microglia, enhancing proinflammatory and anti-metastasis T cell responses, RELA activation in human macrophages correlates with immunotherapy resistance.
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Overcoming melanoma therapy resistance with RAF-MEK and FAK inhibition Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-03-10 Mathieu Desaunay, Poulikos I. Poulikakos
Cutaneous melanoma, frequently driven by BRAF (V600X) mutations, often develops resistance to mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-targeted therapies and immune checkpoint inhibitors. In this issue of Cancer Cell, Lubrano et al. identify RhoA-FAK-AKT signaling as a resistance mechanism and demonstrate that combining RAF-MEK glue with a FAK inhibitor enhances tumor regression and immune response
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Exploring the “chemo” in chemoimmunotherapy for triple-negative breast cancer Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-03-10 Ting Liu, Leif W. Ellisen
In this issue of Cancer Cell, Zhang et al. use single-cell RNA sequencing to compare immune cell dynamics in triple-negative breast cancers treated with the PD-L1 inhibitor atezolizumab plus paclitaxel or nab-paclitaxel. They identify distinct T cell activation patterns and highlight mast cells’ role in immune activation exclusively in the nab-paclitaxel combination.
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A CDK4-selective inhibitor puts the brakes on cancer cells Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-03-10 Chang-Ching Lin, Ariella B. Hanker
In this issue of Cancer Cell, Palmer et al. describe the discovery and preclinical testing of the first-in-class CDK4-selective inhibitor atirmociclib. By sparing CDK6, atirmociclib has the potential to ameliorate dose-limiting hematological toxicities that limit drug exposure and treatment continuity and, by extension, the antitumor efficacy of dual CDK4/6 inhibitors.
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An innovative ALA-CART platform exhibits high efficacy against cancers Cancer Cell (IF 48.8) Pub Date : 2025-03-10 Jiasheng Wang, Xin Lin
The therapeutic efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells is compromised in antigen-low tumors due to poor sensitivity and insufficient persistence. In this issue of Cancer Cell, Pham-Danis et al. design the ALA-CART platform to improve CAR T cell sensitivity, persistence, differentiation, and cytotoxic function by enhancing LAT phosphorylation after low antigen stimulation.