Liljegren A et al. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2018. doi:10.1007/s10549-017-4639-0

Intensive surveillance and proactive treatment of other conditions improves outcomes in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Here, the authors provide a comprehensive overview of surveillance strategies for patients with CRC, and discuss the future development of patient-centred programmes. Nat Rev Clin Oncol  2017; 14: 297–315. doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2016.199

Results from this cost-effectiveness analysis provide new evidence in the debate on which imaging methods to use for surveillance of distant recurrence in extremity soft tissue sarcoma. Royce TJ et al. Ann Surg Oncol 2017; 24: 3264–3270. doi:10.1245/s10434-017-5996-y

Mollica MA; Enewold LR, Lines LM et al. Cancer Causes Control 2017; 28: 1133-1141. doi:10.1007/s10552-017-0947-2

Here, Guillerey et al. review the immunological microenvironment in myeloma and highlight the numerous promising immune-targeting strategies approved or in clinical trials for the treatment of myeloma. Summary points Multiple myeloma (MM) is a tumor localized at various sites within the bone marrow (BM). With over 20,000 new cases diagnosed per year in the United States, MM represents 1% of all cancers and approximately 10% of all hematological malignancies. Early studies established the role of the BM microenvironment in MM pathology but the immune component of this microenvironment has not received full attention until recently. MM is a multistep progressing disease that starts with an asymptomatic premalignant lesion called monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and develops to an escape phase in which active MM can be observed. Several lines of evidence indicate that changes in the immune responses may drive the development from MGUS to MM progression. Along with genetic changes in plasma cells the BM microenvironment is believed to play a crucial role in disease progression to symptomatic myeloma. Therapeutic options such as autologous stem cell transplant, thalidomide, immunomodulatory drugs, and proteasome inhibitors can restore and enhance anti-myeloma immune responses. However, in spite of the clinical success of these therapies, MM remains largely incurable and most patients relapse. Research is currently ongoing to design new therapeutic strategies able to eradicate residual disease, trigger the immune elimination of myeloma cells, and prevent relapse. Harnessing the immune system is an appealing solution and new approaches such as immunotherapy with natural killer cell-based therapies or immune checkpoint modulation hold great promise for MM patients. Guillerey C, Nakamura K, Vuckovic S, Hill GR, Smyth MJ.  Cell Mol Life Sci  2016; 73:1569–1589. doi: 10.1007/s00018-016-2135-z

Staging of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is essential to determine prognosis and to define appropriate treatment. This article describes the most appropriate staging evaluation of patients with RCC. Dunnick NR. Abdom Radiol 2016; 41: 1079–1085. doi:10.1007/s00261-016-0692-0

Keskey RC et al. Ann Surg Oncol 2017; 24: 3903-3910. doi:10.1245/s10434-017-6094-x

This study finds suboptimal hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance rates in patients with cirrhosis: Only 49% received surveillance within 6 months and 78% received HCC surveillance within 1 year. Tavakoli H, Robinson A, Liu B et al. Dig Dis Sci 2017;62:2174–2181. doi:10.1007/s10620-017-4595-x