As research into the pathogenesis of cancer becomes more sophisticated, a greater number of pathways and receptors become available for examination as potential therapeutic targets. Three such novel targets were described at the 25th Jubilee Conference of the New Zealand Society for Oncology [Auckland, New Zealand; February 1996]. They includep16gene mutations in hereditary melanoma, epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors and the nuclear enzyme poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase (PARP).