In this Review, Lu et al. discuss the dual role of the cyclic guanosine monophosphate–adenosine monophosphate synthase (cGAS)–stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway in cancer, emphasizing its involvement in both tumour suppression and promotion. They highlight the diverse sources of pathway activation and suggest that this functional duality may underlie the limited clinical success of cGAS–STING targeting in cancer therapy.

Nature Reviews Cancer, Published online: 16 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s41568-025-00905-9Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is defined by a fibroinflammatory microenvironment, which influences both disease progression and therapy response. In this Review, Arnold et al. outline our current understanding of the complex interplay between the stromal elements of the tumour microenvironment in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and present ways we might use this knowledge to develop better therapeutic strategies for patients with pancreatic cancer.

In a study published in Nature, Lourenço et al. demonstrate that strong oncogenic driver mutations undergo negative selection unless they occur in a permissive tissue context.

Nature Reviews Cancer, Published online: 12 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s41568-025-00900-0Artificial intelligence agents are autonomous systems that use large language models to reason and as such can perform complex, multistep tasks with minimal human oversight. This Review by Truhn et al. discusses how these agents — which have already been implemented in several industries — could transform cancer research and oncology, and looks at the challenges that need to be addressed before they can be efficiently and safely used.

Nature Reviews Cancer, Published online: 09 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s41568-025-00904-wIn a study published in Nature, Lourenço et al. demonstrate that strong oncogenic driver mutations undergo negative selection unless they occur in a permissive tissue context.

By incorporating lectins that target specific tumour-associated carbohydrate antigens, Zhou et al. engineered bispecific antibodies that induce effective T cell activation and tumour regression in various cancers.

In this Perspective, Reardon et al. explore how integrating machine learning into next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based molecular diagnostic workflows can enhance precision oncology. They discuss the benefits, challenges and responsible implementation of these approaches, highlighting their potential to streamline variant interpretation, maximize clinical insights and support more informed decision-making at the point-of-care.

Nature Reviews Cancer, Published online: 05 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s41568-025-00894-9In this Review, Lu et al. discuss the dual role of the cyclic guanosine monophosphate–adenosine monophosphate synthase (cGAS)–stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway in cancer, emphasizing its involvement in both tumour suppression and promotion. They highlight the diverse sources of pathway activation and suggest that this functional duality may underlie the limited clinical success of cGAS–STING targeting in cancer therapy.

Nature Reviews Cancer, Published online: 02 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s41568-025-00902-yBy incorporating lectins that target specific tumour-associated carbohydrate antigens, Zhou et al. engineered bispecific antibodies that induce effective T cell activation and tumour regression in various cancers.

Nature Reviews Cancer, Published online: 02 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s41568-025-00897-6In this Perspective, Reardon et al. explore how integrating machine learning into next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based molecular diagnostic workflows can enhance precision oncology. They discuss the benefits, challenges and responsible implementation of these approaches, highlighting their potential to streamline variant interpretation, maximize clinical insights and support more informed decision-making at the point-of-care.

In this Review Luo, Kharas and Jaffrey outline how N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification affects RNA stability, translation, splicing and immune responses to influence cancer biology. They discuss emerging evidence on how m6A may influence cancer metabolic reprogramming and outline the challenges and opportunities of targeting m6A writers, erasers and readers for cancer therapy.

A study published in Science shows that liver zonation shapes hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development. In mice, HCC predominantly originates from zone 3 hepatocytes, where GSTM2 and GSTM3 drive initiation by inhibiting ferroptosis, revealing metabolic vulnerabilities in liver cancer.

Macrophages can eliminate cancer cells through phagocytosis, which is tightly regulated through inhibition and activation of various phagocytic receptors. In this Review, Veillette and colleagues outline how targeting these phagocytic checkpoints could be harnessed therapeutically, address therapeutic efficacy concerns, and propose strategies to enhance therapeutic outcomes in future clinical applications.

Concomitant medications are emerging as a modifiable prognostic factor for immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment outcomes. This Review by Stone et al. highlights the potential immunomodulatory interactions of commonly prescribed medications and supplements, and proposes strategies to make better use of this information to guide clinical care.

Nature Reviews Cancer, Published online: 09 December 2025; doi:10.1038/s41568-025-00899-4A study published in Science shows that liver zonation shapes hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development. In mice, HCC predominantly originates from zone 3 hepatocytes, where GSTM2 and GSTM3 drive initiation by inhibiting ferroptosis, revealing metabolic vulnerabilities in liver cancer.

Tumour heterogeneity has a substantial impact on tumour progression and treatment response, yet bulk expression data obtained from clinical tumour samples obscure this complexity. Computational deconvolution methods can resolve cell-type-specific signals. This Review offers a practical guide for cancer researchers to select deconvolution methods and maximize the utility of bulk transcriptomic data.

Nature Reviews Cancer, Published online: 08 December 2025; doi:10.1038/s41568-025-00898-5Patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE), although well established in clinical settings, remains less well defined in laboratory-based settings, where infrastructure to support meaningful collaboration is limited. In this Comment, the authors propose a novel framework for embedding PPIE ambassadors into basic cancer research pipelines, outlining strategies to address power imbalances, enhance communication and facilitate knowledge translation.

Nature Reviews Cancer, Published online: 08 December 2025; doi:10.1038/s41568-025-00893-wMacrophages can eliminate cancer cells through phagocytosis, which is tightly regulated through inhibition and activation of various phagocytic receptors. In this Review, Veillette and colleagues outline how targeting these phagocytic checkpoints could be harnessed therapeutically, address therapeutic efficacy concerns, and propose strategies to enhance therapeutic outcomes in future clinical applications.

Nature Reviews Cancer, Published online: 08 December 2025; doi:10.1038/s41568-025-00889-6In this Review Luo, Kharas and Jaffrey outline how N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification affects RNA stability, translation, splicing and immune responses to influence cancer biology. They discuss emerging evidence on how m6A may influence cancer metabolic reprogramming and outline the challenges and opportunities of targeting m6A writers, erasers and readers for cancer therapy.

Macropinocytosis enables cancer cells to absorb nutrients from their environment, supporting growth and therapy resistance. In this Review, Tang, Wang, Kroemer and Kang outline its regulatory mechanisms, implications for treatment strategies and potential as a target for enhancing therapeutic efficacy in oncology.

A common side effect of treatment with taxane-based chemotherapy is peripheral neuropathy. Now, Fonseca et al. uncover the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response in leukocytes as the effective mediator of paclitaxel-induced peripheral nerve damage.