Advances in the role of nervous system in initiation and progression of tumors / 肿瘤

ABSTRACT

Tumors are not isolated structures within organisms. Tumor tissue innervation has been confirmed, and neurotransmitters can directly regulate proliferation, angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis of tumors through acting on kinds of receptors on tumor cells, meanwhile, through acting on receptors on immune cells. Neurotransmitters can modulate differentiation, proliferation and activation of immune cells and influence tumor immune response. Correspondingly, cytokines released from tumor cells stimulate afferent sensory fibers or traverse blood-brain barrier, and affect the activities of central nervous system. Psychosociological stress can influence sympathetic system or hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and cause variation of the levels of catecholamines and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which may affect initiation and progression of tumors. Based on the potential role of neuromodulation in initiation and progression of tumors, intervention targeting nervous system would be a promising strategy in systemic intervention of tumors.