Neurology Clinic, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
National Center for Tumour Diseases, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Nat Rev Cancer. 2022 Aug;22(8):481-491. doi: 10.1038/s41568-022-00475-0. Epub 2022 Apr 29.
Cancer cells can organize and communicate in functional networks. Similarly to other networks in biology and sociology, these can be highly relevant for growth and resilience. In this Perspective, we demonstrate by the example of glioblastomas and other incurable brain tumours how versatile multicellular tumour networks are formed by two classes of long intercellular membrane protrusions: tumour microtubes and tunnelling nanotubes. The resulting networks drive tumour growth and resistance to standard therapies. This raises the question of how to disconnect brain tumour networks to halt tumour growth and whether this can make established therapies more effective. Emerging principles of tumour networks, their potential relevance for tumour types outside the brain and translational implications, including clinical trials that are already based on these discoveries, are discussed.
癌细胞可以在功能网络中进行组织和交流。与生物学和社会学中的其他网络类似，这些网络对于生长和恢复能力非常重要。在本观点中，我们通过神经胶质瘤和其他无法治愈的脑肿瘤的例子来说明，两种长细胞间膜突起——肿瘤微管和隧道纳米管如何形成多功能的多细胞肿瘤网络。由此产生的网络驱动肿瘤生长和对标准治疗的抵抗。这就提出了一个问题，即如何切断脑肿瘤网络以阻止肿瘤生长，以及这是否可以使现有的治疗方法更加有效。讨论了肿瘤网络的新兴原则、它们对大脑以外肿瘤类型的潜在相关性以及转化意义，包括已经基于这些发现的临床试验。
