Trends in cancerPub Date : 2026-10-01Epub Date: 2026-07-15DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2026.06.009
Manon de Graaf, Alex De Caluwé, Laurence Buisseret, Marleen Kok
{"title":"Neoadjuvant immunotherapy in breast cancer: Progress and challenges.","authors":"Manon de Graaf, Alex De Caluwé, Laurence Buisseret, Marleen Kok","doi":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.06.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.06.009","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>While breast cancer (BC) has always been considered an immunological 'cold' tumor type, anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) has recently changed the treatment landscape of triple-negative breast cancer, and neoadjuvant Phase III trials for high-grade estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer have reported promising results. However, a substantial number of patients do not benefit and are in need of novel combination strategies. In addition, since anti-PD-1 is added to combination chemotherapy, there is a growing issue of overtreatment for patients with an already excellent outcome. In this review, we discuss the status and challenges of neoadjuvant immunotherapy in BC, including the need for prognostic and predictive biomarkers to guide treatment individualization and optimize the balance between the efficacy and toxicity of immunotherapy.</p>","PeriodicalId":23336,"journal":{"name":"Trends in cancer","volume":" ","pages":"962-981"},"PeriodicalIF":21.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148449694","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in cancerPub Date : 2026-10-01Epub Date: 2026-06-27DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2026.06.002
Lei Nie, Vivian Jiang, Yang Liu, Michael Wang
{"title":"Patient-derived organoids in hematologic malignancies: Fidelity and translation beyond animals.","authors":"Lei Nie, Vivian Jiang, Yang Liu, Michael Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.06.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.06.002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Hematologic patient-derived organoids (PDOs) reconstruct human bone marrow and lymph node microenvironments in 3D, preserving malignant cell states, clonal diversity, and clinically relevant drug responses. Leukemia PDOs artificially mimic the complex bone marrow niche and cytokine dependencies. Lymphoma PDOs recapture immune-stromal interactions and enable testing of targeted and immunotherapies, including bispecific antibodies and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells. Multiple myeloma PDOs model the bone marrow microenvironment and maintain plasma tumor cell survival cues that drive drug resistance. Across preclinical models, PDOs outperform 2D cultures, spheroids, and xenografts in mechanistic and translational resolution. Converging regulatory support and National Institutes of Health investment position hematologic PDOs as frontline platforms for functional precision oncology. This review highlights current systems, disease-specific advances, quality standards, and future directions.</p>","PeriodicalId":23336,"journal":{"name":"Trends in cancer","volume":" ","pages":"902-916"},"PeriodicalIF":21.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148340246","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in cancerPub Date : 2026-10-01Epub Date: 2026-08-11DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2026.07.007
Krista A Budinich, Liling Wan
{"title":"A new phase in KRAS signaling.","authors":"Krista A Budinich, Liling Wan","doi":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.07.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.07.007","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>By positioning phase separation between Kirsten rat sarcoma virus oncogene homolog (KRAS) lipidation and membrane signaling, Wang et al. unify distinct aspects of KRAS biology. They show that farnesylation drives cytoplasmic KRAS condensates that promote processing, trafficking, and signaling, establishing condensat formation as a new mechanism for controlling RAS activity.</p>","PeriodicalId":23336,"journal":{"name":"Trends in cancer","volume":" ","pages":"889-891"},"PeriodicalIF":21.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148707664","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Itaconate in cancer immunity: Evidence, ambiguities, and translational barriers.","authors":"Juntong Chen, Ruichen Zang, Xudong Wang, Chen Zhang, Bufu Tang, Yicheng Chen, Guoqing Ding, Jie Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.06.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.06.007","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Itaconate (ITA) is an endogenous metabolite produced from cis-aconitate by the immune-responsive gene 1-encoded enzyme aconitate decarboxylase 1 and has emerged as an important immune-metabolic regulator in cancer. In the tumor immune microenvironment, endogenous ITA is increasingly associated with an immunosuppressive microenvironment, tumor cell immune evasion, and therapeutic resistance, supporting a predominantly pro-tumor role in vivo. Nevertheless, the field remains clouded by several unresolved issues, including the heavy reliance on a limited number of tumor models, the persistent conflation of endogenous ITA with membrane-permeable derivatives, the incomplete definition of the mechanisms underlying its intercellular effects, and the uncertain cross-species relevance of current findings. Here, we highlight recent evidence supporting the physiological functions of endogenous ITA in cancer, delineate major boundaries and ambiguities in current interpretation, and outline key questions that should guide future mechanistic and translational studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":23336,"journal":{"name":"Trends in cancer","volume":" ","pages":"950-961"},"PeriodicalIF":21.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148377227","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in cancerPub Date : 2026-10-01Epub Date: 2026-07-15DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2026.06.012
Vincent Rondeau, Elina K Cook, Robert J Vanner
{"title":"Under pressure: clonal hematopoiesis in patients receiving cancer therapy.","authors":"Vincent Rondeau, Elina K Cook, Robert J Vanner","doi":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.06.012","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.06.012","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In clonal hematopoiesis (CH), hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) with mutations conferring a fitness advantage preferentially expand under evolutionary constraints. Over the last decade, cancer therapy has emerged as a selective pressure contributing to high rates of CH in patients with hematological and nonhematological cancers. Distinct chemotherapies, radiotherapies, immunotherapies, and targeted cancer therapies shape somatic evolution by inducing de novo mutations and by conferring a selective advantage to pre-existing CH clones. Such expansion may influence treatment response and toxicity, and is linked to the development of therapy-related myeloid neoplasms. CH prevalence will continue to increase as treatment options expand, cancers are detected earlier, and patients live longer. Managing CH and its adverse effects has the potential to improve cancer outcomes and survivorship.</p>","PeriodicalId":23336,"journal":{"name":"Trends in cancer","volume":" ","pages":"917-934"},"PeriodicalIF":21.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148456098","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in cancerPub Date : 2026-10-01Epub Date: 2026-06-26DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2026.06.003
Areti Georgiadi, Jarne Pauwels, Katleen De Preter, Kris Gevaert
{"title":"Multi-omics analysis of extracellular vesicle cargo in cancer.","authors":"Areti Georgiadi, Jarne Pauwels, Katleen De Preter, Kris Gevaert","doi":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.06.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.06.003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are increasingly recognized as minimally invasive sources of molecular information in cancer, carrying nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, and metabolites that reflect tumor biology. Recent advances in high-throughput sequencing and mass spectrometry have not only enabled multi-omics profiling of EV cargo but also revealed that different molecular layers capture distinct yet complementary aspects of cancer processes. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the rapidly expanding landscape of EV multi-omics, highlighting methodological constraints, the predominance of proteo-transcriptomic analyses, and the principal strategies used for multi-omics layer data integration. We outline how these developments refine biomarker discovery, expose new mechanistic insights, and emphasize the need for standardized, multi-analyte EV workflows to fully realize their clinical and translational potential.</p>","PeriodicalId":23336,"journal":{"name":"Trends in cancer","volume":" ","pages":"935-949"},"PeriodicalIF":21.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148333251","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in cancerPub Date : 2026-10-01Epub Date: 2026-06-26DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2026.06.001
Julie Lafont, Mathilde Kerhervé, Nicolas André, Marion Le Grand, Eddy Pasquier
{"title":"Precision neuro-oncology for children: Time to gear up!","authors":"Julie Lafont, Mathilde Kerhervé, Nicolas André, Marion Le Grand, Eddy Pasquier","doi":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.06.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.06.001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Molecular profiling is central to pediatric precision oncology, yet only 15-20% of patients benefit from biology-guided treatments. This limitation underscores the urgent need for functional precision medicine, which interrogates therapeutic vulnerabilities using patient-derived models. Despite hurdles in establishing these models, such as limited biopsy material and technical screening barriers, recent advances in tumoroids, patient-derived xenografts and high-throughput platforms offer an unprecedented opportunity to bridge the translational gap. In this review, we describe the evolution of patient-derived models of pediatric brain cancers, their current strengths and weaknesses and the technological innovations redefining the field. Together, these insights provide a road map for integrating functional data into clinical decision-making, ultimately aiming to 'cure more and heal better' children with brain tumors.</p>","PeriodicalId":23336,"journal":{"name":"Trends in cancer","volume":" ","pages":"982-996"},"PeriodicalIF":21.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148333185","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in cancerPub Date : 2026-09-22DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2026.09.003
Fangjia Tong, Xin Liu, Deyu Fang, Patricia A Robinson, William J Gradishar, Rongfu Wang, Huiping Liu
{"title":"Circulating tumor cell-immune cell clusters: dynamic engines of metastasis.","authors":"Fangjia Tong, Xin Liu, Deyu Fang, Patricia A Robinson, William J Gradishar, Rongfu Wang, Huiping Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.09.003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trecan.2026.09.003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Circulating tumor cell (CTC) clusters are potent drivers of metastasis, exhibiting markedly greater metastatic capacity than single CTCs. Beyond homotypic CTC clusters, CTCs dynamically engage immune cells to form heterotypic clusters with enhanced metastatic fitness. Rather than passive assemblies, these clusters function as coordinated metastatic ecosystems, integrating adhesion, immune modulation, and metabolic adaptation to promote survival, plasticity, and immune evasion. Recent advances in CTC isolation, single-cell and spatial multiomics, and artificial intelligence-driven analyses have enabled unprecedented resolution of these dynamic interactions. Together, these findings support a conceptual shift from isolated single-cell dissemination to multicellular cooperation as an important principle of metastasis and identify CTC-immune cell clusters as actionable targets for next-generation therapies to boost immunity and prevent metastasis.</p>","PeriodicalId":23336,"journal":{"name":"Trends in cancer","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":21.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149138359","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in cancerPub Date : 2026-09-22DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2026.09.004
Rachel S Sousa, Alexander Moshensky, Claire Murat, Shannon N Geels, John Lowengrub, Francesco Marangoni
{"title":"Integrating biology and mathematics to understand checkpoint immunotherapy.","authors":"Rachel S Sousa, Alexander Moshensky, Claire Murat, Shannon N Geels, John Lowengrub, Francesco Marangoni","doi":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.09.004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trecan.2026.09.004","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) elicit durable antitumor responses in immunogenic tumors but still fail in most patients. Extensive research has elucidated how ICIs trigger a wide array of antitumor responses, yet, unexpectedly, also fuel tumor immunosuppression, a major driver of therapy failure. We argue that the sheer number of variables at play will hinder upcoming research to improve ICI performance, making the classic experimental approach exceedingly time- and resource-intensive. We posit that this problem can be solved through a bidirectional feedback loop of mathematical modeling and experimental validation. This review consolidates foundational knowledge in cancer immunology and mathematical modeling and proposes strategies that enable mathematicians and immunologists to collaborate fruitfully and expedite breakthroughs in ICI therapy.</p>","PeriodicalId":23336,"journal":{"name":"Trends in cancer","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":21.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149138404","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in cancerPub Date : 2026-09-21DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2026.08.010
Evan R Beiter, Christopher T Chen
{"title":"Not 'cold' but conditional: emerging principles of immunotherapy in colorectal cancer.","authors":"Evan R Beiter, Christopher T Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.08.010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trecan.2026.08.010","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Repeated Phase 3 failures have framed proficient mismatch repair/microsatellite stable colorectal cancer as 'cold' and immunotherapy-resistant. We argue that this resistance is conditional, shaped by disease stage, metastatic anatomy, spatial immune architecture, and therapeutic mechanism. Recognizing these principles can guide patient selection, biomarker stratification, and drug development to realize immunotherapy's clinical potential.</p>","PeriodicalId":23336,"journal":{"name":"Trends in cancer","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":21.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149017627","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}