Cancer

This paper maps oestrogen receptor-α (ERα) binding to chromatin in frozen samples of breast tumours to identify changes in ERα-mediated gene expression, which are modulated by FOXA1 and which correlate with prognosis.

Whole-genome sequencing indicates few genetic changes in retinoblastoma and hints at epigenetic changes instead.

Regulation of a splicing factor kinase by the Wilms' tumour suppressor WT1 contributes to alternative splicing of VEGFA.

Cancer cells target active SRC for autophagy when SRC signalling is deregulated through the loss of focal adhesion kinase.

Snuderl et al. analysed receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) mutations in glioblastoma and found that around 5% of samples had co-amplification of RTKs, including epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), MET and platelet-derived growth factor receptor-α. In several samples these amplifications were not evident in all

This study by Walter Kolch and colleagues indicates that mutant KRAS leads to the stabilization of p53 through the MST2–LATS1 kinase pathway, which results in apoptosis. This is counteracted through mutant KRAS activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor and the remaining wild-type KRAS allele,

Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) is a cytokine that is expressed in human primary breast cancers but not in breast cancer brain metastases. Patricia Steeg and colleagues now show that human and mouse breast cancer cells expressing PEDF cannot establish large brain metastases. In addition, the

The colonization of new soil by metastatic seeds is a complex process, and a recent paper indicates that the education of stromal cells at a secondary site is important. Malanchi et al. show that the extracellular matrix component periostin (POSTN) is expressed by fibroblasts

Two papers indicate the importance of TAZ in cancer biology.

A recent study proposes a new drug combination strategy to target drug-resistant chronic myeloid leukaemia.

Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and angiogenesis correlate with ovarian cancer progression, and the VEGF-neutralizing monoclonal antibody bevacizumab has shown activity in Phase II trials in ovarian cancer. Two Phase III trials have now shown that bevacizumab may be beneficial when added to

Nature Reviews Cancer11, 757 (2011) 10.1038/nrc3161In the above Research Highlight, the sentence "Infiltration of immune cells into TDO-expressing tumours was attenuated in Ahr-/- host mice, underscoring the importance of AHR in the recruitment of immune cells." is

Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) have long been considered important but unglamorous elements in the production of the protein synthesis machinery of the cell. Recently, however, several independent lines of evidence have indicated that these non-coding RNAs might have crucial roles in controlling cell behaviour, and

Uncontrolled cell survival, growth, angiogenesis and metastasis are essential hallmarks of cancer. Genetic and biochemical data have demonstrated that the growth and motility factor hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) and its receptor, the tyrosine kinase MET, have a causal role in all of these processes,

Alkylating agents constitute a major class of frontline chemotherapeutic drugs that inflict cytotoxic DNA damage as their main mode of action, in addition to collateral mutagenic damage. Numerous cellular pathways, including direct DNA damage reversal, base excision repair (BER) and mismatch repair (MMR), respond to

It is only recently that the full importance of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signalling to cancer development has been understood. Although much attention has focused on the upstream pathways leading to NF-κB activation, it is now becoming clear that the inhibitor of NF-κB kinases (IKKs), which

The cancer stem cell (CSC) concept derives from the fact that cancers are dysregulated tissue clones whose continued propagation is vested in a biologically distinct subset of cells that are typically rare. This idea is not new, but has recently gained prominence because of advances

Mouse models are indispensible tools for understanding the molecular basis of cancer. However, despite the invaluable data provided regarding tumour biology, owing to inbreeding, current mouse models fail to accurately model human populations. Polymorphism is the essential characteristic that makes each of us unique humans,

We read the correspondence regarding the recent Review (The different roles of ER subtypes in cancer biology and therapy. Nature Rev. Cancer11, 597–608 (2011)) between Ke-Da Yu and Zhi-Ming Shao and the authors of the

Inhibitors that target the interaction between menin and MLL could be useful for the treatment of acute lymphocytic leukaemia.

Aberrant nuclear morphology is already used as a diagnostic criterion for cancer, but why is the nucleus deformed in cancer cells? This Review discusses how components of the nuclear envelope and the adjoining lamina are deregulated in cancer cells and the consequences of this change in cell morphology.

This Review reflects on the recent disappointing initial results from Phase III trials of insulin-like growth factor I receptor (IGF1R)-specific antibodies for cancer treatment, and discusses the next steps in targeting insulin and IGFI signalling in cancer therapy.

Two papers published in Cell expand our knowledge and raise new questions about how metastasis occurs in pancreatic cancer.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are ligand-activated transcription factors that are involved in regulating glucose and lipid homeostasis, inflammation, proliferation and differentiation. This Review discusses the roles of PPARs in cancer and focuses on PPARβ/δ and the controversies yet to be resolved.

The RB family is usually associated with the regulation of the G1/S transition and cell cycle entry. Recent data have shown a role for the RB family in regulating S phase and mitosis, which has implications for the genomic stability of tumour cells in which the RB family is inactivated.

Two new studies provide mechanistic insights into the phenomenon of chromothripsis in cancer.

Data that support a link between pericyte loss and metastasis have been published in Cancer Cell.