The ultimate aim of cancer research is to eliminate this common and devastating disease from the human population. To develop more effective prevention methods we need to understand what triggers carcinogenesis. To diagnose precancerous lesions and early-stage cancers quickly and accurately we need to detect the earliest molecular changes leading to each type of cancer. To determine a patient's prognosis we need to appreciate which molecular changes affect tumour growth rate and invasiveness. And to tailor therapies to individual tumours we need to understand the fundamental differences, not only between a cancer cell and a 'normal' cell, but also between one cancer cell and another. All of these goals depend on a combination of basic and applied research. Nature Reviews Cancer will be a gateway from which cancer researchers — from those investigating the molecular basis of cancer to those involved in translational research — access the information that they need to further the ability to diagnose, treat and ultimately prevent cancer.

Subjects covered

• Genomic instability: chromosomal and microsatellite instabilities; defects in DNA repair pathways.
• Growth factor signalling to cell cycle progression: proto-oncogenes and their dysregulation.
• Growth inhibitory signals: dysregulation of quiescence and differentiation, tumour suppressors and their inactivation.
• Cellular immortality and telomere maintenance.
• Cell death: evading apoptosis, including avoidance of immune surveillance systems.
• Angiogenesis: sustaining tumour growth by building a vascular system.
• Metastasis: moving to and surviving in new environments.
• Carcinogenesis and cancer prevention: epidemiology, genetic and environmental triggers, gene–environment interactions and strategies for reducing risk.
• Cancer diagnosis and prognosis: molecular markers; diagnostic imaging; defining tumour margins; detecting minimal residual disease.
• New approaches to cancer therapy: rational drug design, gene therapy, immunotherapy, combination therapies, combating drug resistance and targeting therapies to the individual.
• Experimental systems and techniques: cell culture and animal models, genomic and proteomic approaches to studying cancer.
• Cancer-associated disease: cancer pain, cachexia, symptoms associated with treatment (hair loss, anaemia, gastrointestinal disease), psychosocial aspects of cancer.
• Ethical, legal and social issues surrounding cancer research: trial design, genetic screening, public and professional education, research policy and advocacy.
• Conventional approaches to cancer diagnosis and treatment: how do they perform, what are their drawbacks and how might they be improved in the future?

All submissions to the journal must be submitted online at http://mts-nrc.nature.com/cgi-bin/main.plex.