Title:The Role of Neuronal Pathways in Gastrointestinal Cancers: Targets for Prevention and Treatment
Volume: 21
Issue: 14
Author(s): Mohadeseh Poudineh, Samaneh Mollazadeh, Shima Mehrabadi, Majid Khazaei, Seyed Mahdi Hassanian and Amir Avan*
Affiliation:
- Metabolic Syndrome Research Center, Mashhad University of
Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
- Basic Sciences Research Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences,
Mashhad, Iran
- Medical Genetics Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Keywords:
Neural pathway, gastrointestinal cancers, prevention, GI, tumor therapy, humoral.
Abstract: In recent decades, the mortality and morbidity of Gastrointestinal (GI) cancer have remarkably
increased, especially in younger individuals. Recent studies revealed that neuronal connections
play an active part in GI tumor initiation and progression. Also, studies showed neurotransmitters
and neuropeptides drive the activation of various oncogenic pathways downstream of neural
receptors within cancer cells, underscoring the importance of neural signaling pathways in GI tumor
malignancy. These studies show that the humoral and nervous pathways can transfer signals of tumors
to the brain. But, the exact mechanism of this regulation from the brain to the gut is still unknown.
In this review, we summarized the mechanism of the neuronal pathway in the regulation of
promotion or suppression of GI cancer and oncogene activation, and we summarize recent findings
linking the nervous system to GI tumor progression and highlight the importance of targeting neural
mechanisms in GI tumor therapy.
