Bando et al. perform a phase II trial of atezolizumab monotherapy following platinum-based definitive chemoradiotherapy in patients with unresectable locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and report a complete response rate of 42%.

Schrank et al. report the design and characterization of an antibody–toxin conjugate targeting CD47, promoting anti-tumor immunity in preclinical cancer models.

Bilen et al. perform a phase 2 single-arm clinical trial of neoadjuvant cabozantinib in patients with locally advanced nonmetastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma, assess efficacy and find antitumor CD8⁺ T cell response activation upon treatment.

McGaha and colleagues review recent research on the metabolic programs of tumor-associated macrophages across cancer types and discuss their implications on potential therapeutic vulnerabilities.

By integrating single-cell RNA and physically interacting cell sequencing analysis, here Cohen and colleagues report that neutrophils are enriched in physical crosstalk with breast tumor cells, promoting cancer aggressiveness.

Bilen et al. perform a phase 2 single-arm clinical trial of neoadjuvant cabozantinib in patients with locally advanced nonmetastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma, assess efficacy and find antitumor CD8⁺ T cell response activation upon treatment.

Schrank et al. report the design and characterization of an antibody–toxin conjugate targeting CD47, promoting anti-tumor immunity in preclinical cancer models.

Marabelle et al. present updated data from the KEYNOTE-158 trial after ~4.5 years of follow-up, reporting an overall response rate of 34% and a median overall survival of 19.8 months in participants with MSI-H/MMR advanced noncolorectal solid tumors.

Bando et al. perform a phase II trial of atezolizumab monotherapy following platinum-based definitive chemoradiotherapy in patients with unresectable locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and report a complete response rate of 42%.

Li et al. show through single-cell and functional data that tumor microenvironment remodeling promotes peritoneal metastasis of colorectal cancer through microbiome dysbiosis, neutrophil recruitment and mesenchymal transition of mesothelial cells.

Lillian Siu is director of the Phase I Clinical Trials Program, codirector of the Robert and Maggie Bras and Family Drug Development Program, clinical lead for the Tumor Immunotherapy Program, and the BMO Chair in Precision Cancer Genomics at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network in Toronto, Canada. She is also a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and AACR President-Elect 2024–2025. We caught up with her to discuss her career and developments in the clinical oncology field.

To mark the fifth anniversary of Nature Cancer, we launch a Series of Reviews and opinion pieces that will run throughout this year. We take this opportunity to reflect on the journal’s first five years and what comes next.

Johanna A. Joyce is a professor at the University of Lausanne and a member of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. She is also president-elect of the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR). We spoke to her about her work on the tumor microenvironment and with the cancer community.

Training the next generation of cancer researchers is essential for the cancer research enterprise. However, training programs and methods to evaluate their effectiveness vary greatly across the USA and other countries. Here we discuss strategies to enhance cancer education and processes by which training may be standardized.