中山大学/南方医科大学/南昌大学合作发表最新Nature Cancer论文

Core Viewpoint - The interaction between the brain and tumors is a critical yet underexplored aspect of cancer biology, with evidence suggesting that psychological stress significantly influences tumor development and treatment response [2][4]. Group 1 - A large meta-analysis involving 2,611,907 participants found a strong correlation between depression and anxiety with increased cancer incidence, cancer-specific mortality, and all-cause mortality [2]. - The brain regulates tumor occurrence and development through various neuroendocrine and neural pathways, including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the autonomic nervous system, although the exact mechanisms remain largely unclear [2][4]. Group 2 - A recent study published in Nature Cancer revealed that colorectal cancer cells hijack a brain-gut polysynaptic circuit from the lateral septum to enteric neurons to sustain tumor growth [3][4]. - The study identified that GABAergic neurons in the lateral septum connect with cholinergic neurons in the gut, which extend to the tumor microenvironment (TME), and these neurons are exploited by colorectal cancer cells to promote tumor growth [7]. - Chronic stress in a mouse model enhances the activity of this circuit, exacerbating tumor progression, and clinical observations indicate that increased neuronal activity in the lateral septum correlates with larger primary tumors in colorectal cancer patients [7][9].