The entire breadth of translational cancer research is addressed in this volume, which brings together members of academia and industry in the expectation of accelerating interactions and progress in the field. A variety of key topics are presented, beginning with discovery of molecular targets and pathways (oncogene, cell survival, tumor suppression, cell death), host-neoplasm interactions (cell adhesion, matrix proteases), early detection, monitoring progression, understanding tumor progression and metastasis, immune surveillance, in vivo molecular imaging, animal models, drug discovery including chemistry, high-throughput assays, mechanism determination, target validation, therapeutic window and some progress in clinical trials for more advanced agents and targets. This is volume 1059 of the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences