Although cancer development and progression depend on stochastic mutational events, the tumor has to be seen in the context of the host environment, and unraveling the environmental factors that support solid tumors is at the root of cancer prevention and cure. This Special Issue, focused on the dynamic crosstalk that occurs between tumor cells and the surrounding microenvironment and also including the cancer cells that represent a reservoir of self-sustaining cells for tumor maintenance, adds new knowledge about tumor–host interactions that is useful for novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

A respected resource for decades, the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals has been updated by a committee of experts, taking into consideration input from the scientific and laboratory animal communities and the public at large. The Guide incorporates new scientific information on common laboratory animals, including aquatic species, and includes extensive references. It is organized around major components of animal use: Key concepts of animal care and use. The Guide sets the framework for the humane care and use of laboratory animals. Animal care and use program. The Guide discusses the concept of a broad Program of Animal Care and Use, including roles and responsibilities of the Institutional Official, Attending Veterinarian and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. Animal environment, husbandry, and management. A chapter on this topic is now divided into sections on terrestrial and aquatic animals and provides recommendations for housing and environment, husbandry, behavioral and population management, and more. Veterinary care. The Guide discusses veterinary care and the responsibilities of the Attending Veterinarian. It includes recommendations on animal procurement and transportation, preventive medicine (including animal biosecurity), and clinical care and management. The Guide addresses distress and pain recognition and relief, and issues surrounding euthanasia. Physical plant. The Guide identifies design issues, providing construction guidelines for functional areas; considerations such as drainage, vibration and noise control, and environmental monitoring; and specialized facilities for animal housing and research needs. The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals provides a framework for the judgments required in the management of animal facilities. This updated and expanded resource of proven value will be important to scientists and researchers, veterinarians, animal care personnel, facilities managers, institutional administrators, policy makers involved in research issues, and animal welfare advocates.

Tumor progression is driven by mutations that confer growth advantages to different subpopulations of cancer cells. As a tumor grows, these subpopulations expand, accumulate new mutations, and are subjected to selective pressures from the environment, including anticancer interventions. This process, termed clonal evolution, can lead to the emergence of therapy-resistant tumors and poses a major challenge for cancer eradication efforts. Written and edited by experts in the field, this collection from Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine examines cancer progression as an evolutionary process and explores how this way of looking at cancer may lead to more effective strategies for managing and treating it. The contributors review efforts to characterize the subclonal architecture and dynamics of tumors, understand the roles of chromosomal instability, driver mutations, and mutation order, and determine how cancer cells respond to selective pressures imposed by anticancer agents, immune cells, and other components of the tumor microenvironment. They compare cancer evolution to organismal evolution and describe how ecological theories and mathematical models are being used to understand the complex dynamics between a tumor and its microenvironment during cancer progression. The authors also discuss improved methods to monitor tumor evolution (e.g., liquid biopsies) and the development of more effective strategies for managing and treating cancers (e.g., immunotherapies). This volume will therefore serve as a vital reference for all cancer biologists as well as anyone seeking to improve clinical outcomes for patients with cancer.

Nanotherapeutics in Cancer Vaccination and Challenges consolidates the current research on cancer nanomedicine and therapeutic cancer vaccination to explore the most effective and promising avenues. The book covers cancer vaccines before exploring nanotherapeutics, DNA and mRNA vaccines in cancer treatment. Finally, it considers regulatory and industrial perspectives on cancer vaccination and nanotherapeutics. This resource will be useful for pharmaceutical scientists and researchers focused on biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, vaccine development, and cancer immunotherapy, along with advanced students in these subjects. Cancer is arguably the most complex and challenging disease known to mankind. Over the last two-decades, significant advancements have been made in new and novel concepts of cancer nanomedicines. Therapeutic cancer vaccines may be utilized to inhibit further growth of advanced cancers and/or relapsed tumors that are refractory to conventional therapies, such as surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. - Presents the progress made in cancer medicines from conventional to targeted therapy - Covers the present state-of-the-art of cancer nanomedicines and upcoming therapeutic cancer vaccination - Contains a focus on advanced nanomaterials that are utilized for encapsulation of nucleic acid, mRNA, DNA, siRNA