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Cancer cells usurp the healthy tissue microenvironment to promote their survival, proliferation, and dissemination. The role of angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels, in solid tumor growth is well established. Whether neurogenesis, the formation of new nerve fibers, likewise contributes to tumor development and progression remains unclear. Here, studying mouse models and human tumor samples, we examined the role of the autonomic nervous system in prostate cancer growth and dissemination.

The parasympathetic nervous system promotes prostate cancer dissemination in mice. Image shows bone metastases (arrowheads) detected by Na¹⁸F-PET scanning of Hi-Myc mice, a model of prostate cancer. Such metastases are not detected when the Hi-Myc mice are genetically deficient in muscarinic cholinergic receptor type 1, an essential signaling component of the parasympathetic …