bims-netuvo 2025-03-23 papers

Front Immunol. 2025 ;16 1528363

Central nervous system and immune cells interactions in cancer: unveiling new therapeutic avenues.

Cancer remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Despite significant advancements in cancer research, our understanding of its complex developmental pathways remains inadequate. Recent research has clarified the intricate relationship between the central nervous system (CNS) and cancer, particularly how the CNS influences tumor growth and metastasis via regulating immune cell activity. The interactions between the central nervous system and immune cells regulate the tumor microenvironment via various signaling pathways, cytokines, neuropeptides, and neurotransmitters, while also incorporating processes that alter the tumor immunological landscape. Furthermore, therapeutic strategies targeting neuro-immune cell interactions, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, alongside advanced technologies like brain-computer interfaces and nanodelivery systems, exhibit promise in improving treatment efficacy. This complex bidirectional regulatory network significantly affects tumor development, metastasis, patient immune status, and therapy responses. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms regulating CNS-immune cell interactions is crucial for developing innovative therapeutic strategies. This work consolidates advancements in CNS-immune cell interactions, evaluates their potential in cancer treatment strategies, and provides innovative insights for future research and therapeutic approaches.

Keywords: cancer; central nervous system; immune cells; therapeutic targets; tumor microenvironment

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1528363

Front Oncol. 2025 ;15 1525835

A CT-based radiomics nomogram for the preoperative prediction of perineural invasion in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Yan Deng, Haopeng Yu, Xiuping Duan, Li Liu, Zixing Huang, Bin Song.

Purpose: To develop a nomogram based on CT radiomics features for preoperative prediction of perineural invasion (PNI) in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients.
Methods: A total of 217 patients with histologically confirmed PDAC were enrolled in this retrospective study. Radiomics features were extracted from the whole tumor. Univariate analysis, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator and logistic regression were applied for feature selection and radiomics model construction. Finally, a nomogram combining the radiomics score (Rad-score) and clinical characteristics was established. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, calibration curve analysis and decision curve analysis (DCA) were used to evaluate the predictive performance of the nomogram.
Results: According to multivariate analysis, CT features, including the radiologists evaluated PNI status based on CECT (CTPNI) (OR=1.971 [95% CI: 1.165, 3.332], P=0.01), the lymph node status determined on CECT (CTLN) (OR=2.506 [95%: 1.416, 4.333], P=0.001) and the Rad-score (OR=3.666 [95% CI: 2.069, 6.494], P<0.001), were significantly associated with PNI. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for the nomogram combined with the Rad-score, CTLN and CTPNI achieved favorable discrimination of PNI status, with AUCs of 0.846 and 0.778 in the training and testing cohorts, respectively, which were superior to those of the Rad-score (AUC of 0.720 in the training cohort and 0.640 in the testing cohort) and CTPNI (AUC of 0.610 in the training cohort and 0.675 in the testing cohort). The calibration plot and decision curve showed good results.
Conclusion: The CT-based radiomics nomogram has the potential to accurately predict PNI in patients with PDAC.

Keywords: computed tomography; nomogram; pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; perineural invasion; radiomics

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2025.1525835

Surg Open Sci. 2025 Mar;24 58-60

Perineural invasion in pancreatic cancer: Current biological function in R status, prognosis, and pain.

Federico Selvaggi, Elisa Bannone, Eugenia Melchiorre, Michele Diana, Roberto Cotellese, Gitana Maria Aceto.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is predicted to become the second leading cause of death in 2030 and it is characterized by poor prognosis, recurrence and resistance to therapies. Several factors contribute to the complexity of this disease, among those the invasion of nerves by PDAC cells. This condition, defined as perineural invasion (PNI), is responsible of PDAC progression and pain generation. To date, PNI emerges as a hallmark feature of PDAC, showing the same oncological weight of lymph node metastasis in terms of prognosis. Targeting PNI could help improve prognosis and pain relief in PDAC patients. Only recently, a severity scoring system has been proposed to quantify PNI in histological samples although prospective validation and standardization are strongly advocated. More information about peripancreatic soft tissue infiltration and a "true" curative surgery could be found in understanding the molecular mechanisms of PNI. The incorporation of PNI markers for grading mesopancreas and retroperitoneal invasion is required to overcome current limitations of the histological workup. We discuss the modern understanding of PNI in PDAC, and the state of the art in clinical setting. Although there are still a lot to learn about PDAC, PNI represents one of the biological detonators and an important focus of future research.

Keywords: Curative resection; Pancreas; Pancreatic cancer; Perineural infiltration

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sopen.2025.02.007

BMC Cancer. 2025 Mar 17. 25(1): 491

What is the impact of perineural invasion on the prognosis of cervical cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Guangyao Cai, Siru Zhang, Shangbin Gao, Ting Deng, He Huang, Yanling Feng, Ting Wan.

BACKGROUND: Perineural Invasion (PNI) is a marker of a highly invasive tumor with poor prognosis, but the real influence on the prognosis of cervical cancer is still debated. We aimed to systematically investigate the prognostic impact of PNI in cervical cancer.
METHODS: We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane databases, and ClinicalTrials.gov from inception to 20 April 2024. Cohort, case-control, and randomized controlled studies reporting the PNI status and survival outcomes of women with cervical cancer were included. Two reviewers extracted data independently and appraised study quality following the PRISMA guideline. The quality of the studies was assessed with Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Random effect model was used if the heterogeneity was significant (P ≤ 0.1, I2 ≥ 50%).
RESULTS: We included seven retrospective cohort studies (1561 women) in the analysis. PNI was remarkably associated with a worse survival (risk ratio [95% CI]: 2.79 [1.67- 4.66], I2 = 78% for 5-year overall survival (OS); 2.16 [1.30-3.59], I2 = 84% for 5-year disease-free survival (DFS)). After multivariate cox regression adjustment, the hazard ratio [95% CI] of PNI was 3.25 [1.09, 9.74] (I2 = 85%) for OS, and 2.50 [0.66, 9.46] (I2 = 89%) for DFS. PNI showed positive correlation with higher stage, larger tumor size, lymph node metastasis, deep stromal invasion, lymphovascular invasion, resection margin involvement, and parametrial invasion (P < 0.05). Besides, PNI was associated with higher possibility of adjuvant therapy (risk difference [95% CI]: 0.28 [0.04-0.52], I2 = 92%), especially for chemoradiation (0.25 [-0.02-0.53], I2 = 76%). Subgroup analysis showed patients with PNI had poorer prognosis than those without PNI in patients with LNM or large tumor size (P < 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: PNI demonstrated a significant association with reduced overall survival in cervical cancer patients and emerged as a potential independent prognostic indicator, which provided a foundation for future investigations to evaluate the clinical utility of PNI status in guiding therapeutic strategies.
TRAIL REGISTRATION: The protocol for this study was prospectively registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) under identifying number CRD42022315970.

Keywords: Adjuvant therapy; Cervical cancer; Disease-free survival; Metastasis; Nerve-sparing radical hysterectomy; Overall survival; Perineural invasion; Prognosis; Surgery

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-025-13838-1

Zhongguo Fei Ai Za Zhi. 2025 Feb 20. 28(2): 138-145

[Crosstalk between Tumor Cells and Neural Signals in Neuroendocrine Carcinoma  Metastasis: Communication Hijacking Based Perspective].

Shuping Song, Xinyi Wang, Siqi Zhou, Xuchen Cheng, Weixuan Lin, Yongxuan Wang, Yanqin Sun.

Neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) represents a category of malignant tumors originating from neuroendocrine cells. Given that NEC cells exhibit characteristics of both neural and endocrine cells, they can hijack neuronal signaling pathways and dynamically regulate the expression of neuronal lineage markers during tumor metastasis, thereby constructing a microenvironment conducive to tumor growth and metastasis. Conversely, alterations in the tumor microenvironment can enhance the interactions between neurons and tumor cells, ultimately synergistically promoting the metastasis of NEC. This review highlights recent advancements in the field of cancer neuroscience, uncovering neuronal lineage markers in NEC that facilitate tumor dissemination through mediating crosstalk, bidirectional communication, and synergistic interactions between tumor cells and the nervous system. Consequently, the latest findings in tumor neuroscience have enriched our understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying tumor metastasis, opening new research avenues for a deeper comprehension of the complex biological processes involved in tumor metastasis, particularly brain metastasis. This review provides a comprehensive review of the crosstalk between tumor cells and neural signaling in the metastasis of NEC. .

Keywords: Cancer neuroscience; Communication hijacking; Crosstalk effect; Neuroendocrine carcinoma; Tumor metastasis

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3779/j.issn.1009-3419.2025.101.03