2026-09-21
Dharma Pally, Johanna I. Englund, Alexandra Naba
The extracellular matrix (ECM) has a role in all aspects of cancer progression and thus provides a rich source of potential tumour biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Nonetheless, early efforts at clinical translation have failed to provide ECM-specific clinical tools or therapies. In this Review, the authors describe novel technologies and how these are being leveraged to better inform our understanding of the role of the ECM in cancer development and progression as well as how this new knowledge and capabilities might lead to novel biomarkers and/or ECM-targeting therapies.
DOI: 10.1038/s41571-026-01203-52026-09-17
Tim F. Greten, Mitchell Ho
A new chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell product consists of autologous T cells expressing an affinity-tuned glypican 3-targeted CAR and armoured to secrete a dominant-negative TGFβ receptor II. This cell product was tested in 36 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and, although the initial efficacy results were promising, antigen loss and limited progression-free survival remain concerns. Here we discuss what else is needed to bring CAR T cells for solid tumours into the clinic.
DOI: 10.1038/s41571-026-01206-22026-09-17
Kathleen N. Moore, Oladapo O. Yeku, Brooke E. Howitt, Hagop Youssoufian, Joyce F. Liu
DOI: 10.1038/s41571-026-01208-02026-09-16
Diana Romero
DOI: 10.1038/s41571-026-01207-12026-09-11
William Jia, Ronghua Zhao, Howard L. Kaufman, Robert L. Martuza
DOI: 10.1038/s41571-026-01205-32026-09-07
Peter Sidaway
DOI: 10.1038/s41571-026-01202-62026-09-03
William Jia, Ronghua Zhao, Howard L. Kaufman, Robert L. Martuza
The development of diverse immunotherapeutic modalities has revolutionized the treatment of cancer but the effectiveness of these therapies remains restricted by fundamental mechanistic limitations relating to the generation of tumour-specific T cells, and their activation and/or access into the tumour microenvironment. In this Perspective, the authors position oncolytic viruses as a foundational immuno-oncology platform for systemic immune reprogramming to simultaneously overcome these availability, activation and admission barriers, and delineate four pillars for the development of a new generation of oncolytic virotherapies.
DOI: 10.1038/s41571-026-01198-z2026-08-27
Peter Sidaway
DOI: 10.1038/s41571-026-01200-82026-08-26
Monireh Sadat Seyyedsalehi, Paolo Boffetta
The global cancer burden is projected to rise substantially in the coming decades, driven largely by population growth and ageing. Yet cancer patterns and outcomes vary widely across regions, reflecting differences in exposures, healthcare capacity and access to care. Translating these evolving epidemiological patterns into effective and equitable cancer-control strategies is increasingly urgent.
DOI: 10.1038/s41571-026-01199-y2026-07-24
Klaus Pantel
Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, Published online: 24 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41571-026-01181-8 Advances in multimodal analyses of diverse cell types and cellular products present in the blood have presented opportunities to non-invasively and repeatedly assess systemic immune dynamics, predict and monitor responses to immunotherapies, and detect emerging resistance in patients with cancer. In this Review, the authors discuss various insights on systemic antitumour immune responses that can be gleaned through such liquid biopsy-based analysis of circulating tumour-derived biomarkers and/or immune cells and their implications for immunotherapy.]]>
DOI: 10.1038/s41571-026-01181-82026-07-14
Maximilian Merz
Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, Published online: 14 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41571-026-01184-5 The future of ciltacabtagene autoleucel in multiple myeloma has just begun]]>
DOI: 10.1038/s41571-026-01184-52026-07-09
Samuel Grigg
Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, Published online: 09 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41571-026-01179-2 CRISPR–Cas technologies provide a modular, programmable platform for sequence-specific targeting of DNA or RNA and have advanced from experimental molecular biology tools to clinical translation. This Review describes current and emerging applications of CRISPR–Cas platforms in oncology, including their use in discovery research, diagnostics and therapeutics.]]>
DOI: 10.1038/s41571-026-01179-22026-06-26
Bibek Aryal
Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, Published online: 26 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41571-026-01180-9 Modern oncology has built highly efficient pathways for patent-protected innovation, but no equivalent machinery for evaluating and developing promising off-patent therapeutics. Herein, we frame ‘open-source oncology’ as a parallel public-interest infrastructure to test, authorize and implement credible generic agents. Designed to translate ownerless evidence into standard-of-care treatments, this framework applies the same scientific seriousness devoted to proprietary drugs, decoupling clinical value from commercial ownership.]]>
DOI: 10.1038/s41571-026-01180-92026-06-15
Diana Romero
Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, Published online: 15 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41571-026-01178-3 Teclistamab monotherapy improves survival in RRMM]]>
DOI: 10.1038/s41571-026-01178-32026-06-12
Peter Sidaway
Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, Published online: 12 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41571-026-01176-5 Daraxonrasib effective in metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma]]>
DOI: 10.1038/s41571-026-01176-52026-06-11
Peter Sidaway
Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, Published online: 11 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41571-026-01175-6 Ivonescimab improves overall survival]]>
DOI: 10.1038/s41571-026-01175-62026-05-20
Wenxin Xu
Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41571-026-01163-w Kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) is overexpressed in renal cell carcinoma (RCC), and consistent shedding of this cell-surface protein into the circulation makes it a promising blood-based biomarker for this disease. Herein, we outline potential roles of circulating KIM-1 in diagnosis, prognostication and therapeutic monitoring of RCC, as well as research priorities for clinical translation of this biomarker.]]>
DOI: 10.1038/s41571-026-01163-w2026-04-28
Eddy Saad
Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, Published online: 28 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41571-026-01145-y Long considered undruggable, hypoxia-inducible factor 2α (HIF2α) has now been validated as a therapeutic target in several cancers. This Review discusses the structural basis for HIF2α druggability, the clinical results to date and key challenges, including toxicities and the need for predictive biomarkers, as well as emerging targeting modalities and combination strategies that might enhance efficacy, overcome resistance and broaden indications for HIF2 inhibition.]]>
DOI: 10.1038/s41571-026-01145-y2026-04-22
Laura S. Mertens
Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, Published online: 22 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41571-026-01153-y Two recent phase II trials, INDIBLADE and SURE-02, challenge the long-standing paradigm of mandatory radical local therapy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). As increasingly potent systemic induction treatment strategies emerge, a key question arises: can induction therapy response guide omission of radical surgery and radiotherapy to enable preservation of an intact, functioning bladder in selected patients?]]>
DOI: 10.1038/s41571-026-01153-y2026-04-21
Sunil Shrestha
Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, Published online: 21 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41571-026-01151-0 The burden of cancer therapy on patients’ time is often overlooked. Building on the ‘time toxicity’ literature, we introduce the concept of time budgeting, viewing patients’ time as a limited, measurable resource that can be managed through treatment selection, pathway design and trial protocols. We discuss the rationale, measurement challenges and implementation requirements to operationalize time budgeting in cancer care.]]>
DOI: 10.1038/s41571-026-01151-02026-04-09
Erez N. Baruch
Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, Published online: 09 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41571-026-01146-x Three recently published studies demonstrate the feasibility of modulating gut microorganisms using faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in patients receiving immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in the first-line setting, expanding the evidence that FMT can augment response to ICIs. Herein, we discuss several opportunities for refining these efforts in order to increase the rigour and clinical benefit from microbiota modulation trials in oncology.]]>
DOI: 10.1038/s41571-026-01146-x2026-03-24
Karla Kerlikowske, Kathryn P. Lowry, Diana L. Miglioretti
Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, Published online: 24 March 2026; doi:10.1038/s41571-026-01143-0 This Comment describes the clinical significance of the Mammography Screening with Artificial Intelligence (MASAI) trial, which is, to the best of our knowledge, the first randomized trial of artificial intelligence-supported mammography interpretation to examine interval cancer as an outcome. This trial used artificial intelligence to assign single-reading versus double-reading of mammograms and found that this approach does not increase interval cancers in the Swedish population.
2026-03-18
Diana Romero
Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, Published online: 18 March 2026; doi:10.1038/s41571-026-01142-1 Neoadjuvant GOLP is effective in high-risk intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma
2026-03-10
Joan Choo, Amalya Sargsyan, Vahe Khachatryan, Sara Lonardi, Filippo Pietrantonio, Raghav Sundar, Samuel Klempner, Yelena Janjigian
Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, Published online: 10 March 2026; doi:10.1038/s41571-026-01134-1 The development of immune checkpoint inhibitors and novel targeted therapies and the incorporation of these agents into first-line therapy for biomarker-selected patients with metastatic gastric cancer has improved outcomes. Nonetheless, many challenges remain, including both primary and acquired resistance as well as a lack of relevant biomarkers in certain subgroups. In this Review, the authors describe the current approach to first-line therapy for patients with metastatic gastric cancer as well as emerging approaches that might improve the standard of care in the coming years.