It has become apparent in the recent years that defects in regulatory systems of the eukaryotic cell cycle contribute, in a major way, to the evolution of a neoplastic phenotype in mammalian cells. The American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) and the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC) jointly organized a meeting, held last January in Lausanne/Switzerland, to discuss recent results in cell cycle research and their implications for cancer.