It’s time for the Top 100 in Cancer Collection* from Scientific Reports! We had a wealth of cancer research published in 2023, with a few interesting themes emerging. Here are some of my favorites.

Environment and cancer: Although cancer is often thought of as a genetic disease, our interaction with our environment can also cause – or exacerbate – cancer, and building our understanding of how this happens is an important entry point into reducing cancer risk. A study from Anna Stec’s lab on cancer in firefighters provides important insights into how we might reduce cancer risk in this at-risk population. Another study by Jun Hyung Park and colleagues examined the in vitro effects of microplastics on breast cancer cells; their findings suggest that exposure to microplastics increases aggressive behavior and might promote breast cancer metastasis.

Non-invasive screening: Screening remains our best bet for reducing cancer-related mortality and one of our biggest challenges. Several of our most downloaded papers deal with non-invasive screening approaches, including  a proof-of-concept study using fingertip smears to screen for breast cancer and a study using liquid biopsy to identify minimal residual disease in patients with breast cancer.

A chip that allows testing of heterogeneity: Any cancer researcher will tell you that “cells on plastic” are not good representations of an actual tumor, and yet we struggle to find better methods. One of our Top 100 studies built a “tumor on a chip” through 3D bioprinting. This can be used to model tumor heterogeneity and provides a more realistic environment that can still be manipulated and assessed in vitro.

And, of course, the dog paper: One of our most downloaded studies last year was about the screening of naturally occurring tumors in dogs to see how closely their genetics matched those of human tumors. Head over to the Collection page to see how it turned out.

You can read about these studies and more of our most downloaded studies from 2023 in our Top 100 in Cancer Collection.

*Data obtained from SN Insights, which is based on Digital Science's Dimensions.