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Dangerous liaisons as tumour cells form synapses with neurons

Why brain tumours progress rapidly is unclear. The finding that such cancer cells form synaptic connections with neurons uncovers an interaction that accelerates tumour growth rate and lethality.
  1. Andres Barria

    1. Andres Barria is in the Department of Physiology & Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.

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People with brain tumours have a range of symptoms that can vary in severity, from headaches to a decline in cognitive function. The symptoms depend on the tumour type and its size, location and growth rate. Understanding what controls the growth rate of brain tumours might therefore lead to the development of therapies that slow cancer progression and improve the quality of life of people who have this type of cancer. Writing in Nature, Venkataramani et al.1, Venkatesh et al.2 and Zeng et al.3 report that, in the brain, neurons and cancer cells form a type of connection between cells called an excitatory synapse, and the formation of this connection boosts tumour growth.

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Nature 573, 499-501 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-02746-7

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