Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

Future directions in preclinical and translational cancer neuroscience research

Recent advances in cancer neuroscience necessitate the systematic analysis of neural influences in cancer as potential therapeutic targets in oncology. Here we outline recommendations for future preclinical and translational research in this field.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Neural influences in cancer.
Fig. 2: Areas of future research focus for the cancer neuroscience field.

References

  1. Zahalka, A. H. & Frenette, P. S. Nat. Rev. Cancer 20, 143–157 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Arranz, L. et al. Nature 512, 78–81 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Ceyhan, G. O. et al. Gastroenterology 136, 177–186.e1 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Amit, M., Na’ara, S. & Gil, Z. Nat. Rev. Cancer 16, 399–408 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Demir, I. E., Friess, H. & Ceyhan, G. O. Nat. Rev. Gastroenterol. Hepatol. 12, 649–659 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Saloman, J. L., Cohen, J. A. & Kaplan, D. H. Curr. Opin. Neurobiol. 62, 60–67 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Kamiya, A. et al. Nat. Neurosci. 22, 1289–1305 (2019).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Mantyh, P. W. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 7, 797–809 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Pastuła, A. et al. Stem Cells Int. 2016, 3710836 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Faber, C.L., Matsen, M.E., Meek, T.H., Krull, J.E. & Morton, G.J. J. Vis. Exp. (2020).

  11. Smith-Edwards, K. M. et al. EGastroenterology 157, 522–536.e2 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Giladi, A. et al. Nat. Biotechnol. 38, 629–637 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Deborde, S. et al. J. Clin. Invest. 126, 1538–1554 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Burma, N. E., Leduc-Pessah, H., Fan, C. Y. & Trang, T. J. Neurosci. Res. 95, 1242–1256 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Bailey, J. J., Schirrmacher, R., Farrell, K. & Bernard-Gauthier, V. Expert Opin. Ther. Pat. 27, 831–849 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

I.E.D. was awarded the ENIGMA Young Investigator Prize of the Society for Scientific Meetings in Biomedicine to organize the NIC meeting. We thank Society for Scientific Meetings in Biomedicine (Verein für wissenschaftliche Fachtagungen in der Biomedizin e.V./VWFB e.V; www.vwfb.de) and its chair, H. Augustin, for support. The meeting was also supported by grants from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DE2428/7-1) and the Fritz Thyssen Foundation (30.19.0.128MN). I.E.D. was also funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (project ID 329628492–SFB 1321). M.M. is a New York Stem Cell Foundation Druckenmiller fellow and was supported by the EMBO European Commission FP7 (Marie Curie Actions; EMBOCOFUND2012, GA-2012-600394, ALTF 447-2014).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Consortia

Contributions

I.E.D. wrote the first draft of the manuscript and was the main organizer of The 1st Neural Influences in Cancer (NIC) International Think Tank Meeting, which took place 7–9 November 2019 in Heidelberg, Germany. C.M.R. generated the figures. All authors made substantial contribution to the meeting and to the generation of the consensus concepts as outlined here, and have read and agreed on the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ihsan Ekin Demir.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

T.C.W. is a Consultant for Novo Nordisc and Glaxo SmithKline and is on the Scientific Advisory Board for Cygnal Therapeutics.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Demir, I.E., Mota Reyes, C., Alrawashdeh, W. et al. Future directions in preclinical and translational cancer neuroscience research. Nat Cancer 1, 1027–1031 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-020-00146-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-020-00146-9

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing: Cancer

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Cancer newsletter — what matters in cancer research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get what matters in cancer research, free to your inbox weekly. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Cancer