The Sympathetic Nervous System Drives Tumor Angiogenesis

Abstract

Neurobiology is increasingly contributing to cancer research. Recent work indicates that noradrenaline released by sympathetic adrenergic nerves in prostate cancer can stimulate β-adrenoceptors in endothelial cells. This leads to the alteration of endothelial cell metabolism toward the inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation and the induction of an angiogenic switch that fuels cancer progression. These findings suggest that the sympathetic nervous system is a higher-level control of tumor angiogenesis that could be targeted in clinical oncology.

Keywords: adrenergic signaling; angiogenesis; autonomic nervous system; cancer; metabolism; sympathetic nerves.