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Wired for growth: neuron–tumour signalling in the lung and brain increases growth of a hard-to-treat cancer

Signalling between neurons and tumour cells in the lung and brain promotes the growth of small-cell lung cancer. These interactions might be a therapeutic target.
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  1. Abbie S. Ireland

    1. Abbie S. Ireland is in the Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.

  2. Trudy G. Oliver

    1. Trudy G. Oliver is in the Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.

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Some cancers benefit from interacting with the nervous system — either by directly forming functional connections, termed synapses, with neuronal cells or by indirectly receiving signals released from neurons. This phenomenon is most commonly studied in brain cancers, such as gliomas, but tumours located elsewhere can also benefit from interactions with neurons1,2. Writing in Nature, Savchuk et al.3 and Sakthivelu et al.4 reveal that neuron−cancer interactions promote the growth of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) — a highly aggressive type of lung tumour that often spreads to the brain, and has only limited treatment options5.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-02705-5

References

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  10. Ireland, A. S. et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09503-z (2025).

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Competing Interests

T.G.O. has a patent related to SCLC subtypes (US12188095-B2), a sponsored research agreement with Auron Therapeutics, has consulted for Nuage Therapeutics and Light Horse Therapeutics and served on the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) for Lung Cancer Research Foundation and as a consulting editor for Cancer Research and Genes & Development.

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