On Oct. 30, 2024, ten studies from the Human Tumor Atlas Network (HTAN), a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded Cancer Moonshot℠ initiative to construct three-dimensional maps of human tumors, were published across several Nature journals.

The HTAN seeks to understand the molecular features of tumors and their microenvironments. Launched in 2018, HTAN constructs three-dimensional maps of human tumors that capture their molecular features and surrounding microenvironments over time.

Several studies explore the role of the tumor microenvironment and the immune system in promoting the spread of cancer and its resistance to treatment. Three studies map the trajectory of precancerous colorectal tissues toward cancer by measuring the contributions of multiple molecular and cellular events.