Study Reveals New Treatment Strategy: Blocking Nerves to Combat Pancreatic Cancer - Video

Pancreatic cancer is fueled by connections to the nervous system. This is reported by scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine (HI-STEM)* in their current publication in Nature. The team discovered that the tumor specifically reprograms the neurons for its own benefit. In mice, blocking nerve function inhibited cancer growth and increased the sensitivity of tumor cells to certain chemotherapies and immunotherapies.

When the researchers blocked the neural connection to the pancreatic tumor in a mouse modell using a targeted neurotoxin, the tumor became sensitive to the checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab again and the tumor mass shrank to one-sixth of the mass in control animals. “By blocking the nerves, were able to convert an immunologically cold tumor into one that was sensitive to immunotherapy,” says Simon Renders, also first author of the publication, summarizing the result.

The result underscores that both types of nerve cells have functional relevance for tumor growth. Complete blockade of the communication between nerves and tumor in combination with chemotherapy and/or immune checkpoint inhibitors is a promising approach for combating pancreatic cancer more effectively in the future.

Ref: Thiel, V., Renders, S., Panten, J. et al. Characterization of single neurons reprogrammed by pancreatic cancer. Nature (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08735-3