As the field of cancer neuroscience expands, the strategic targeting of interactions between neurons, cancer cells and other elements in the tumour microenvironment represents a potential paradigm shift in cancer treatment, comparable to the advent of our current understanding of tumour immunology. Cancer cells actively release growth factors that stimulate tumour neo-neurogenesis, and accumulating evidence indicates that tumour neo-innervation propels tumour progression, inhibits tumour-related pro-inflammatory cytokines, promotes neovascularization, facilitates metastasis and regulates immune exhaustion and evasion. In this Review, we give an up-to-date overview of the dynamics of the tumour microenvironment with an emphasis on tumour innervation by the peripheral nervous system, as well as current preclinical and clinical evidence of the benefits of targeting the nervous system in cancer, laying a scientific foundation for further clinical trials. Combining empirical data with a biomarker-driven approach to identify and hone neuronal targets implicated in cancer and its spread can pave the way for swift clinical integration.

随着癌症神经科学领域的扩展，神经元、癌细胞和肿瘤微环境中其他元素之间相互作用的战略靶向代表了癌症治疗的潜在范式转变，类似于我们目前对肿瘤免疫学的理解的出现。癌细胞主动释放刺激肿瘤新神经发生的生长因子，越来越多的证据表明，肿瘤新神经支配推动肿瘤进展，抑制肿瘤相关的促炎细胞因子，促进新生血管形成，促进转移并调节免疫耗竭和逃避。在这篇综述中，我们提供了肿瘤微环境动力学的最新概述，重点是周围神经系统对肿瘤的神经支配，以及目前针对癌症神经系统益处的临床前和临床证据，为进一步的临床试验奠定了科学基础。将经验数据与生物标志物驱动的方法相结合，以识别和磨练与癌症及其扩散有关的神经元靶标，可以为快速的临床整合铺平道路。