Trends in cancerPub Date : 2026-06-01Epub Date: 2026-03-10DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2026.02.005
Zora Baumann, Eric Billy, Manuel C Scheidmann
{"title":"Advancements in organoid models emulating metastatic niches.","authors":"Zora Baumann, Eric Billy, Manuel C Scheidmann","doi":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.02.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.02.005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Metastases cause most cancer-related deaths, underscoring the need for therapies targeting metastatic stages, including the tumor microenvironment. Yet translating biological insights into treatments remains difficult. Preclinical metastasis research largely relies on rodent models, which have species-specific limitations and are incompatible with large-scale perturbation screens in a human context. Human organoids aim to emulate organ microenvironments in vitro and, when cocultured with cancer cells, can provide complementary models. These 'chimeroids' may enable scalable studies of cancer-microenvironment interactions and support genetic and pharmacological screens to discover new targets, offering insights into the final, often lethal step of metastasis-tissue colonization. This review summarizes advances in stem cell-derived organoid models for organs frequently affected by solid tumor metastases, including the brain, lung, liver, and bone, and evaluates their ability to recreate physiologically relevant niches for studying cancer cell adaptation and colonization.</p>","PeriodicalId":23336,"journal":{"name":"Trends in cancer","volume":" ","pages":"510-526"},"PeriodicalIF":17.5,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147435771","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 : 2026-06-01Epub Date: 2026-03-25DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2026.02.004
Laura D Attardi, Arati Rajeevan
{"title":"p53: defender of lineage fidelity and foe of plasticity in cancer and regeneration.","authors":"Laura D Attardi, Arati Rajeevan","doi":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.02.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.02.004","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Although p53 plays a vital role in tumor suppression, the molecular programs underlying its tumor suppressor function remain incompletely understood. Recent work coupling genetically engineered mouse models and single-cell RNA sequencing has illuminated new aspects of p53 function in governing cell state changes. During both lung adenocarcinoma suppression and lung injury repair, p53 acts in a plastic transitional cell state to drive alveolar type 1 cell differentiation, while p53 deficiency causes transitional cell persistence and cancer progression or tissue damage. New insights into p53 function in injury repair in other tissues have also emerged, including in injury-induced intestinal revival stem cells. These studies underscore the importance of p53 in specific plastic states, where it coordinately enforces differentiation and restrains lineage infidelity during tissue healing and cancer suppression.</p>","PeriodicalId":23336,"journal":{"name":"Trends in cancer","volume":" ","pages":"542-552"},"PeriodicalIF":17.5,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147521445","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 : 2026-06-01Epub Date: 2026-03-10DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2026.01.008
Sarah Cronjaeger, Lena Seifert, Adrian M Seifert
{"title":"The rationale for targeting nectin-4 in pancreatic cancer.","authors":"Sarah Cronjaeger, Lena Seifert, Adrian M Seifert","doi":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.01.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.01.008","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Nectin-4 is an immunoglobulinlike cell adhesion molecule that contributes to tumor aggressiveness and immune evasion in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Its high and selective expression on pancreatic cancer cells, together with the clinical efficacy of nectin-4-targeted antibody-drug conjugates in other solid tumors, establishes nectin-4 as a compelling therapeutic target in PDAC.</p>","PeriodicalId":23336,"journal":{"name":"Trends in cancer","volume":" ","pages":"481-484"},"PeriodicalIF":17.5,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147435782","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 : 2026-06-01Epub Date: 2026-04-16DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2026.03.005
Amelia Janiak, Vahid Afshar-Kharghan, David G Menter, Anil K Sood, Sara Corvigno
{"title":"Platelets: the next-generation ovarian cancer biomarker?","authors":"Amelia Janiak, Vahid Afshar-Kharghan, David G Menter, Anil K Sood, Sara Corvigno","doi":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.03.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.03.005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The diagnosis and monitoring of ovarian cancer remain major clinical challenges due to nonspecific symptoms, late-stage detection, and high rates of recurrence. Increasing evidence suggests that circulating platelets reflect tumor presence and activity. Platelet-based molecular and functional signatures may, therefore, represent a promising new class of biomarkers for ovarian cancer.</p>","PeriodicalId":23336,"journal":{"name":"Trends in cancer","volume":" ","pages":"477-480"},"PeriodicalIF":17.5,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13155426/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147699926","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in cancerPub Date : 2026-06-01Epub Date: 2026-04-02DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2026.02.003
Ilja E Shapiro, Michal Bassani-Sternberg
{"title":"From prediction to precision: how immunopeptidomics advances neoantigen discovery.","authors":"Ilja E Shapiro, Michal Bassani-Sternberg","doi":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.02.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.02.003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>T cell recognition of peptides presented by class I and II human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules is fundamental to cancer immunity and personalized immunotherapy. Neoantigens, peptides containing somatic mutations, are attractive therapeutic targets due to their tumor specificity and immunogenicity. Current neoantigen discovery pipelines rely on sequencing and computational predictions but often struggle to identify peptides that are both presented and immunogenic. Immunopeptidomics, which uses mass spectrometry to identify naturally presented HLA-bound peptides, enables detection of neoantigens displayed on tumor cells. This review explores how immunopeptidomics complements existing tools to refine neoantigen identification, improves machine learning prediction algorithms through immunopeptidomics-derived datasets, and distinguishes between mutant and wild-type immunopeptides. We also highlight emerging developments that will further integrate immunopeptidomics into personalized immunotherapy.</p>","PeriodicalId":23336,"journal":{"name":"Trends in cancer","volume":" ","pages":"527-541"},"PeriodicalIF":21.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147609993","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 : 2026-06-01Epub Date: 2026-04-06DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2026.02.006
Peyton C High, Maya G Cappellino, Tiffani A Blackburn, Kendra S Carmon
{"title":"LGR5: from stem cell marker to therapeutic target.","authors":"Peyton C High, Maya G Cappellino, Tiffani A Blackburn, Kendra S Carmon","doi":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.02.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.02.006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Leucine-rich repeat-containing G protein-coupled receptor 5 (LGR5) is an established marker of normal and cancer stemlike cells. LGR5 has been implicated in promoting cancer cell plasticity that drives tumorigenesis, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance. LGR5 rapidly and constitutively internalizes and potentiates Wnt (Wingless/Int-1)/β-catenin and adhesion signaling pathways, though its precise mechanisms and interacting partners remain unresolved. An improved understanding of LGR5 signaling may provide invaluable insight into its intricate and important functions in cancer progression. Moreover, several LGR5-targeting therapies, including peptibody- and antibody-drug conjugates and bispecific antibodies, are showing promising efficacy and tolerability in colorectal cancer and other tumor types. This review discusses the cancer-related functions of LGR5 and explores the preclinical and clinical approaches to therapeutically target this enigmatic protein.</p>","PeriodicalId":23336,"journal":{"name":"Trends in cancer","volume":" ","pages":"495-509"},"PeriodicalIF":21.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13060024/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147628702","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trends in cancerPub Date : 2026-06-01Epub Date: 2026-04-22DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2026.03.004
Harold N Tan, Giuseppe Curigliano, Timothy A Yap
{"title":"Targeting cyclin-dependent kinases in cancer: emerging therapeutics and clinical strategies.","authors":"Harold N Tan, Giuseppe Curigliano, Timothy A Yap","doi":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.03.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.03.004","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) regulate cell cycle progression, and their dysregulation is a hallmark of cancer. CDK4/6 inhibitors have shown clinical success against hormone receptor (HR)-positive, Human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2)-negative breast cancer but encounter adaptive resistance, dose-limiting toxicities, and limited activity in other tumor contexts. Emerging strategies include CDK4-selective, CDK2-selective, and pan-CDK2/4/6 inhibitors designed to overcome resistance and enhance tolerability. In parallel, novel modalities such as proteolysis-targeting degraders, molecular glue degraders, and cyclin-directed agents offer new opportunities to exploit cell cycle vulnerabilities. Several of these candidates have entered early-phase clinical evaluation, marking a new era in CDK-targeted therapy. This review synthesizes recent preclinical and clinical advances, defines key challenges in optimizing efficacy and safety, and outlines future directions for integrating CDK-directed strategies within precision oncology frameworks.</p>","PeriodicalId":23336,"journal":{"name":"Trends in cancer","volume":" ","pages":"553-568"},"PeriodicalIF":17.5,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147782321","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 : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-03-16DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2026.01.004
Mustafa Sibai, Martin Zacharias, Nicholas McGranahan, Mariam Jamal-Hanjani, Eduard Porta-Pardo
{"title":"Cancer in 4D: toward Spatiotemporal Hallmark Ecosystems.","authors":"Mustafa Sibai, Martin Zacharias, Nicholas McGranahan, Mariam Jamal-Hanjani, Eduard Porta-Pardo","doi":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.01.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.01.004","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Hallmarks of Cancer framework provided a unifying description of tumor capabilities, but in its static form, it cannot capture where in a tumor these traits occur, when they arise, or how they reorganize under selection pressure. Here, we propose Spatiotemporal Hallmark Ecosystems as a new lens that redefines the functional unit of selection in cancer evolution. In this view, hallmarks are not fixed consequences of mutations but context-dependent phenotypes that are enabled or constrained by local tissue and microenvironmental conditions. This perspective resolves critical paradoxes, explaining why identical mutations yield divergent outcomes, why premalignant states persist without transformation, and how therapeutic resistance emerges not just from clonal selection but also from 'ecological buffering' by the tumor architecture. By shifting the analysis from the individual cell to the ecosystem, we outline a path toward predictive biomarkers and spatially aware strategies that target the structural stability of the tumor.</p>","PeriodicalId":23336,"journal":{"name":"Trends in cancer","volume":" ","pages":"404-419"},"PeriodicalIF":21.6,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147469130","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 : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-03-11DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2026.01.012
Laura Merlet, Margaux Le Guyon, Julie Gavard
{"title":"A lysosomal requiem for glioblastoma cells.","authors":"Laura Merlet, Margaux Le Guyon, Julie Gavard","doi":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.01.012","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.01.012","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Once viewed solely as degradative compartments, lysosomes shape cell fate through signaling, metabolism, and communication. In glioblastoma, their rewiring underlies plasticity, invasion, and resistance to therapies. This forum explores lysosomal dynamics in brain tumors and therapeutic strategies targeting lysosomal vulnerabilities, offering fresh perspectives for precision approaches in this lethal cancer.</p>","PeriodicalId":23336,"journal":{"name":"Trends in cancer","volume":" ","pages":"386-389"},"PeriodicalIF":21.6,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147445296","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 : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-03-10DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2026.01.009
Supriya Sharma, Ajay Dixit
{"title":"IL33 in pancreatic cancer-pro- or antitumor?","authors":"Supriya Sharma, Ajay Dixit","doi":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.01.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.trecan.2026.01.009","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Interleukin 33 (IL33) in the tumor microenvironment of pancreatic cancer has been linked to both pro- and antitumor immune responses, suggesting a context-dependent role. Herein, we discuss the current understanding and challenges of therapeutically targeting IL33 signaling in pancreatic cancer.</p>","PeriodicalId":23336,"journal":{"name":"Trends in cancer","volume":" ","pages":"390-392"},"PeriodicalIF":17.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147435806","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}