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Brain tumours manipulate neighbouring synapses

The growth of a brain tumour can be affected by the activity of its neighbouring neurons. The finding that such tumours send signals that boost connections between these neurons reveals a pathway that drives cancer growth.
  1. Nicola J. Allen

    1. Nicola J. Allen is at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California 92037, USA.

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A type of non-neuronal brain cell called a glial cell can give rise to a lethal cancer called glioblastoma1. Half of the cells in the human brain are glial cells, which normally act to support the function and communication of neurons2. Yet despite decades of research, there are no existing treatments for glioblastoma that substantially increase the survival time of people with such tumours. Writing in Nature, Yu et al.3 report their analysis of the effects on the brain of certain glioblastoma-associated mutations. These insights might open up new strategies for anticancer research.

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Nature 578, 46-47 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-00137-x

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