The paper explores the intersection of cancer hallmarks and neuroscience within the tumor microenvironment. It proposes that the nervous system significantly influences tumorigenesis through two main avenues: tumor innervation and the co-option of neuronal regulatory circuits by cancer cells. The article details how neuronal activity and signaling can promote proliferative signaling, enable resistance to cell death, and stimulate invasion and metastasis, essentially facilitating key capabilities for cancer development and progression. It also highlights how certain neuronal pathways, when aberrantly activated in cancer cells, can orchestrate these hallmark capabilities, suggesting a crucial, often overlooked, connection between the nervous system and cancer pathology.

References:

• Hanahan D, Monje M. Cancer hallmarks intersect with neuroscience in the tumor microenvironment. Cancer Cell. 2023 Mar 13;41(3):573-580. doi: 10.1016/j.ccell.2023.02.012. PMID: 36917953; PMCID: PMC10202656.