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Activation of retinal neurons triggers tumour formation in cancer-prone mice

Light-induced activation of neuronal cells in the retina stimulates the formation of optic-nerve tumours in cancer-prone mice, revealing a potential role of neuronal activity in cancer initiation.
  1. Varun Venkataramani

    1. Varun Venkataramani is in the Department of Neurology, University Hospital Heidelberg, at the German Cancer Research Center, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany, and in the Department of Functional Neuroanatomy, University Hospital Heidelberg.

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  2. Frank Winkler

    1. Frank Winkler is in the Department of Neurology, University Hospital Heidelberg, and at the German Cancer Research Center, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.

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Cancer is not a disease involving uncontrolled division of isolated cells; rather, it is a condition in which various types of normal and malignant cells collaborate to drive tumour growth and dissemination. To the surprise of many, the nervous system — which includes neuronal cells and non-neuronal cells of the brain, spinal cord and nerves throughout the body — can also be involved in cancer progression. Writing in Nature, Pan et al.1 report that, in a mouse model of a rare disease that predisposes people to tumours along the optic nerve, light-induced neuronal activity is responsible not only for the growth of these tumours, but also for their initiation.

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Nature 594, 179-180 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-01353-9

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Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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