Cancer is an uncontrolled growth of cells in the body. During the 4th stage of cancer, the blob of cancer cells known as a tumor associates with blood vessels and the cancer metastasizes. It penetrates through the blood vessel and is carried by blood to other parts of the body, giving rise to secondary growths.
This was mostly the basis of what we knew about the spread of cancer until research revealed this shocking new side to the story. Neurons are now known to be involved in cancer metastasis besides the involvement of the circulator system.
Michelle Monje of the Stanford University School of Medicine says in a paper she published in Cell (DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2015.04.012) in 2015, that cancer cells not only grow near nerves, but also respond to the chemical signals that neurons secrete.
This opens new doors into the world of cancer treatment. It raises many questions buts also sheds lights on many cancer pathology observations.
Potential cancer treatment could only be done by blocking a neurotransmitter in the nerves that line the area of the cancer. It's only a first step, but it raises the possibility of treating cancers by targeting nearby nerves, says Monje. The treatment might prove to have some serious drawbacks, but more research will be done in the hopes of making it work.
Potential cancer treatment could only be done by blocking a neurotransmitter in the nerves that line the area of the cancer. It's only a first step, but it raises the possibility of treating cancers by targeting nearby nerves, says Monje. The treatment might prove to have some serious drawbacks, but more research will be done in the hopes of making it work.
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