The BJC is owned by Cancer Research UK, a charity dedicated to understanding the causes, prevention and treatment of cancer and to making sure that the best new treatments reach patients in the clinic as quickly as possible. The journal reflects these aims. It was founded more than fifty years ago and, from the start, its far-sighted mission was to encourage communication of the very best cancer research from laboratories and clinics in all countries. The breadth of its coverage, its editorial independence and it consistent high standards, have made BJC one of the world's premier general cancer journals. Its increasing popularity is reflected by a steadily rising impact factor.

ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are transmembrane proteins responsible for the efflux of a wide variety of substrates, including steroid metabolites, through the cellular membranes. For better characterization of the role of ABC transporters in prostate cancer (PCa) development, the profile of ABC transporter gene expression was analyzed in PCa and noncancerous prostate tissues (NPT). TaqMan Low Density Array (TLDA) human ABC transporter plates were used for the gene expression profiling in 10 PCa and 6 NPT specimens. ABCB1 transcript level was evaluated in a larger set of PCa cases (N = 78) and NPT (N = 15) by real-time PCR, the same PCa cases were assessed for the gene promoter hypermethylation by methylation-specific PCR. Expression of eight ABC transporter genes (ABCA8, ABCB1, ABCC6, ABCC9, ABCC10, ABCD2, ABCG2, and ABCG4) was significantly down-regulated in PCa as compared to NPT, and only two genes (ABCC4 and ABCG1) were up-regulated. Down-regulation of ABC transporter genes was prevalent in the TMPRSS2-ERG-negative cases. A detailed analysis of ABCB1 expression confirmed TLDA results: a reduced level of the transcript was identified in PCa in comparison to NPT (p = 0.048). Moreover, the TMPRSS2-ERG-negative PCa cases showed significantly lower expression of ABCB1 in comparison to NPT (p = 0.003) or the fusion-positive tumors (p = 0.002). Promoter methylation of ABCB1 predominantly occurred in PCa and was rarely detected in NPT (p < 0.001). The study suggests frequent down-regulation of the ABC transporter genes in PCa, especially in the TMPRSS2-ERG-negative tumors.

The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is an established biomarker for management of patients with breast cancer. While conventional testing of HER2 protein expression is based on semi-quantitative visual scoring of the immunohistochemistry (IHC) result, efforts to reduce inter-observer variation and to produce continuous estimates of the IHC data are potentiated by digital image analysis technologies.

The European Union (EU) initiative on the Digital Transformation of Health and Care (Digicare) aims to provide the conditions necessary for building a secure, flexible, and decentralized digital health infrastructure. Creating a European Health Research and Innovation Cloud (HRIC) within this environment should enable data sharing and analysis for health research across the EU, in compliance with data protection legislation while preserving the full trust of the participants. Such a HRIC should learn from and build on existing data infrastructures, integrate best practices, and focus on the concrete needs of the community in terms of technologies, governance, management, regulation, and ethics requirements. Here, we describe the vision and expected benefits of digital data sharing in health research activities and present a roadmap that fosters the opportunities while answering the challenges of implementing a HRIC. For this, we put forward five specific recommendations and action points to ensure that a European HRIC: i) is built on established standards and guidelines, providing cloud technologies through an open and decentralized infrastructure; ii) is developed and certified to the highest standards of interoperability and data security that can be trusted by all stakeholders; iii) is supported by a robust ethical and legal framework that is compliant with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); iv) establishes a proper environment for the training of new generations of data and medical scientists; and v) stimulates research and innovation in transnational collaborations through public and private initiatives and partnerships funded by the EU through Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe.

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most prevalent form of renal cancer, accounting for over 75% of cases. The asymptomatic nature of the disease contributes to late-stage diagnoses and poor survival. Highly vascularized and immune infiltrated microenvironment are prominent features of ccRCC, yet the interplay between vasculature and immune cells, disease progression and response to therapy remains poorly understood. Using droplet-based single-cell RNA sequencing we profile 50,236 transcriptomes from paired tumor and healthy adjacent kidney tissues. Our analysis reveals significant heterogeneity and inter-patient variability of the tumor microenvironment. Notably, we discover a previously uncharacterized vasculature subpopulation associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition. The cell-cell communication analysis reveals multiple modes of immunosuppressive interactions within the tumor microenvironment, including clinically relevant interactions between tumor vasculature and stromal cells with immune cells. The upregulation of the genes involved in these interactions is associated with worse survival in the TCGA KIRC cohort. Our findings demonstrate the role of tumor vasculature and stromal cell populations in shaping the ccRCC microenvironment and uncover a subpopulation of cells within the tumor vasculature that is associated with an angiogenic phenotype.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most prevalent oncologic disease among men worldwide. Expression of various transcripts, including miRNAs, is markedly deregulated in cancerous prostate tissue. This study aimed at identifying a PCa-specific expression profile of miRNAs for subsequent use in noninvasive diagnostics. MiRNA expression was profiled in 13 PCa tissues using human miRNA microarrays. Highly expressed miRNAs were selected for the analysis in urine of patients with PCa (N=143) and benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH; N=23) by means of real time PCR, while miRNAs showing the expression differences in relation to clinical variables were further analyzed in 52 PCa and 12 noncancerous prostate tissues (NPT) on TaqMan Low Density Arrays (TLDA). Analysis of miRNA expression in prostate tissue linked miR-95 to aggressive form of PCa. This miRNA was up-regulated in high grade (P=0.041), the TMPRSS2-ERG fusion-positive tumors (P=0.026), and in patients with subsequently developed biochemical recurrence (BCR; P=0.054) after radical prostatectomy. MiRNAs highly expressed in PCa tissues were also detectable in urine from PCa patients. Moreover, the urinary levels of miR-21 had significant discriminatory power (P=0.010) to separate PCa patients from BPH, while the combined analysis of urinary miR-19a and miR-19b was prognostic for BCR. In PCa, the diagnostic potential of urinary miRNA panel (miR-21, miR-19a, and miR-19b) was higher than that of the PSA test (AUC=0.738 vs. AUC=0.514). Measurement of urinary levels of PCa-specific miRNAs could assist in more specific detection of PCa and prediction of BCR.