Research into cancer over the past 10 years has diverged enormously, partly based on the large number of new technologies that are now at our finger tips. With areas of cancer research so disparate, it is not always easy to identify where the next new findings and therapies might come from. With this in mind, we asked four leading cancer researchers from around the world what, in their opinion, we have learnt over the past 10 years and how we should progress in the next 10 years.