Comment

Crowdsourcing efforts are currently underway to collect and analyze data from patients with cancer who are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. These community-led initiatives will fill key knowledge gaps to tackle crucial clinical questions on the complexities of infection with the causative coronavirus SARS-Cov-2 in the large, heterogeneous group of vulnerable patients with cancer.

Low- and middle-income countries share the greatest burden of cancer mortality globally but lag behind high-income countries in terms of clinical trials. Here we discuss the challenges facing low- and middle-income countries and the opportunities for conducting trials of affordable, accessible and effective interventions relevant to the local population.

By integrating discovery science with clinical practice and therapeutic intervention, clinician-scientists fulfil a unique role in cancer research. However, their numbers are in decline, which is creating the need for flexible training and research opportunities to ensure their future.

Intratumoral genetic heterogeneity of driver somatic mutations is present in a variety of tumor types, yet the extent of heterogeneity is variable. We propose that this variation is a reflection of the inherent biology of a given tumor type, representing the pace of metastatic dissemination and hence clinical disease course.