Patients with unresectable stage III non-small-cell lung cancer without EGFR or ALK mutations typically receive the PACIFIC regimen — concurrent chemoradiotherapy (cCRT) followed by consolidation with durvalumab — whereas those with EGFR-mutant disease typically receive cCRT followed by an EGFR inhibitor. Nonetheless, a subset of patients within this heterogeneous group might be able to completely avoid consolidation therapy, whereas others are unable to tolerate cCRT. In this Review, the authors describe the standard-of-care approach in this setting, followed by discussions of treatment optimization for specific subgroups, as well as important future research questions.

A better understanding of the development and progression of heterogeneity in oesophageal adenocarcinoma and its precursor condition, Barrett oesophagus, is crucial for improving surveillance and treatment strategies. The authors of this Review outline the current knowledge of the causes, mediators and therapeutic implications of spatial and temporal heterogeneity in these diseases.

Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection has a key aetiological role in endemic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The authors of this Review discuss advances in NPC screening, which leverage the detection of either plasma EBV DNA or serum antibodies targeting EBV antigens, as well as in prevention, which relies on prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines for NPC.

Third-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as osimertinib have substantially improved clinical outcomes in advanced-stage EGFR-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer, but resistance remains inevitable. In this Review, the authors discuss biomarker-directed and biomarker-unselected approaches to overcome established resistance to osimertinib, as well as pre-emptive upfront strategies to delay or prevent the occurrence of osimertinib resistance.

Artificial intelligence (AI) excels at rapid data synthesis and pattern recognition, yet the practice of oncology demands nuanced clinical judgement, ethical reasoning and authentic empathy — qualities only humans can provide. The future of cancer care lies in synergy: AI augmenting human expertise, not replacing it. Excellence emerges when computational power meets clinical wisdom.