Nerves at Play: The Peripheral Nervous System in Extracranial Malignancies

Authors

Paola D Vermeer
Anthony C Restaino
Jeffrey L Barr
Dan Yaniv
Moran Amit

Publication Date

1-13-2025

Journal

Cancer Discovery

DOI

10.1158/2159-8290.CD-23-0397

PMID

39801235

PMCID

PMC12123371

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

5-30-2025

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Author MSS

Abstract

The exponential growth of the cancer neuroscience field has shown that the host's immune, vascular, and nervous systems communicate with and influence each other in the tumor microenvironment, dictating the cancer malignant phenotype. Unraveling the nervous system's contributions toward this phenotype brings us closer to cancer cures. In this review, we summarize the peripheral nervous system's contributions to cancer. We highlight the effects of nerve recruitment and tumor innervation, the neuro-immune axis, glial cell activity, and neural regulation on cancer development and progression. We also discuss harnessing the neural control of peripheral cancers as a potential therapeutic approach in oncology. Significance: The continued and growing interest in cancer neuroscience by the scientific and medical communities reflects the rapidly accumulating interdisciplinary understanding of the nervous system's modulation of immune, vascular, and cancer cells' functions in malignancies. Understanding these regulatory functions can identify targets for intervention that may already be clinically available for other indications. This potential brings great excitement and hope for patients with cancer worldwide.

Keywords

Humans, Peripheral Nervous System, Neoplasms, Tumor Microenvironment, Animals

Published Open-Access

yes

Recommended Citation

Vermeer, Paola D; Restaino, Anthony C; Barr, Jeffrey L; et al., "Nerves at Play: The Peripheral Nervous System in Extracranial Malignancies" (2025). Faculty, Staff and Student Publications. 4210.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/uthgsbs_docs/4210