This special supplement to the international weekly science journal, Nature, tackles the latest advancements and findings on the medical treatment of cancer. Are we closer than ever to finding a cure for cancer? Will it come from nanotechnology or bioinformatics or some other field entirely? This special issue is divided into two equally fascinating sections, Outlook and Collection. For readers looking for a quick but learned look at what cancer is and how it functions, Herb Brody's excellent introduction can provide some orientation to the special section. From there, the Outlook section hosts a number of readable articles that broadly examine the topic from a range of angles, such as the contribution of statistics to our understanding of cancer, the role of prevention in treating cancer, and a look at cancer in the developing world. The Collection section then offers rigorous peer-reviewed literature on cancer treatment.