Scientists uncover how breast cancer builds its own nerve network
University of Oklahoma researchers found that triple-negative breast cancer recruits immune cells called macrophages and uses them to release a nerve-growth protein, BDNF, that draws nerves into the tumor. In mice, an existing drug blocking that signal stopped nerve growth and slowed tumors. The team now plans to test the same approach in ovarian cancer.
University of Oklahoma scientists have uncovered how triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive and hardest to treat forms of the disease, builds its own nerve network inside tumors. Published in the journal Cell Death and Differentiation, the study found that tumors recruit macrophages, which release the protein BDNF as a chemical beacon that draws nearby nerves into the tumor. Those nerves may help the cancer grow, resist treatment, and spread. In mice, an existing drug blocking BDNF signaling stopped nerve infiltration and significantly slowed tumor growth. Data from real patients showed higher macrophage and BDNF levels linked to worse survival. Researchers now plan to test the same strategy in high-grade ovarian cancer.