Integrating priorities at the intersection of cancer and neuroscience.

Cancer neuroscience is a rapidly growing multidisciplinary field that conceptualizes tumors as tissues fully integrated into the nervous system. Recognizing the complexity and challenges in this field is of fundamental importance to achieving the goal of translational impact for cancer patients. Our commentary highlights key scientific priorities, optimal training settings, and roadblocks to translating scientific findings to the clinic in this emerging field, aiming to formulate a transformative and cohesive path forward.

Phenotype screens of murine pancreatic cancer identify a Tgf-α-Ccl2-paxillin axis driving human-like neural invasion.

Solid cancers like pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), a type of pancreatic cancer, frequently exploit nerves for rapid dissemination. This neural invasion (NI) is an independent prognostic factor in PDAC, but insufficiently modeled in genetically engineered mouse models (GEMM) of PDAC. Here, we systematically screened for human-like NI in Europe's largest repository of GEMM of PDAC, comprising 295 different genotypes.

Regulatory T Cells in Pancreatic Cancer: Of Mice and Men.

Regulatory T cells (Treg) are one of the major immunosuppressive cell subsets in the pancreatic tumor microenvironment. Tregs influence tumor growth by acting either directly on cancer cells or via the inhibition of effector immune cells. Treg cells mechanisms form a partially redundant network with other immunosuppressive cells such as myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) that confer robustness to tumor immunosuppression and resistance to immunotherapy.

Schwann Cells in Peripheral Cancers: Bystanders or Promoters?

The tumor microenvironment is subject to intense investigation in terms of its influence on tumorigenesis. Despite the fact that Schwann cells are cancer cells' early interaction partners, investigations on tumor progression and the molecular drivers of carcinogenesis do not place enough emphasis on them. Recent studies have shown that malignant cells and nerves interact on several levels during early carcinogenesis.