Sensory neurotransmission and pain in solid tumor progression

Sensory neurons, including those that encode painful stimuli (i.e., nociceptors), comprise a large percentage of peripheral nerve endings across several tissues and function to detect stimuli in the environment and propagate these signals to the brain. 

Bidirectional interactions between cancer cells and sensory neurons can result in pain as well as influencing stages of tumorigenesis, including tumor initiation, growth, and metastasis.

Sensory neurons expressing the TRPV1 ion channel produce immunomodulatory neuropeptides that, when released into the tumor, inhibit effector cell activity and promote immune evasion.

Targeting signaling by the sensory neuropeptide, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), in the tumor can reduce pain, improve antitumor immunity, and increase the response to immune checkpoint inhibitors, suggesting that CGRP is a viable target for both cancer pain and tumor progression.

https://www.cell.com/trends/cancer/fulltext/S2405-8033(25)00003-2

https://sciencemission.com/Sensory-neurotransmission-and-pain-and-tumor