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Key developments in the cancer neuroscience field

Nature Cancer volume 6, pages 1928–1929 (2025)Cite this article

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Over the past decade, multiple lines of inquiry have converged on the appreciation that the nervous system plays crucial roles in cancer pathophysiology. Key conceptual advances will mark 2025 as a milestone year in which the ‘emerging’ cancer neuroscience field developed into an established field. Here, we discuss the latest developments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Michelle Monje

  2. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Michelle Monje

  3. Department of Neurology, Heidelberg Medical Faculty of Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany

    Frank Winkler

  4. German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany

    Frank Winkler

Authors
  1. Michelle Monje
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  2. Frank Winkler
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Michelle Monje or Frank Winkler.

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Competing interests

F.W. reports grants from the German Research Foundation (SFB 1389) and grants and nonfinancial support from Divide & Conquer, as well as a patent for Targeting of Tumor Cell Microtube Networks: ‘Agents for Use in the Treatment of Glioma’ (EP15002323, WO2017020982A1 and US20220202936A1) issued. M.M. and her family hold equity in MapLight Therapeutics and Stellaromics and stock in CARGO Therapeutics. M.M. holds patents relevant to glioma neuroscience therapy.

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Monje, M., Winkler, F. Key developments in the cancer neuroscience field. Nat Cancer 6, 1928–1929 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-025-01082-2

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