Cancer-related pain: A bidirectional modulator of cancer progression.

IF 7.9 1区医学 Q1 MEDICINE, RESEARCH & EXPERIMENTAL

Clinical and Translational Medicine Pub Date : 2026-09-01 DOI:10.1002/ctm2.70817

Junzhe He, Yu Zhang, Qian Liu, Biao Yan, Peiwei Chai, Renbing Jia

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Cancer-related pain (CRP), with a high prevalence and prognostic value in malignancies, is not only a passive phenomenon but rather engages in a bidirectional crosstalk with cancer progression.

Main topics: This review focuses on the intricate reciprocal relationship between CRP and cancer progression, delineating how advanced cancers promote CRP directly through tissue destruction, invasion and inflammation, or indirectly via inflammatory, neural, stromal and metabolic components within the tumour microenvironment. However, controversies remain in the field, such as the ambiguous role of sensory neurons in cancer progression and the potential pro-tumorigenic risk of opioids. Notably, CRP regulates cancer progression through local pain-associated mediators (e.g., CGRP, SP), the pain-stress axis, central nuclei-mediated peripheral immune modulation, sensory-sympathetic/vagal circuits and direct effects on tumour biology.

Conclusion: Future research should further elucidate the mechanistic interplay between pain and cancer, as targeting CRP may offer novel therapeutic opportunities for anti-cancer treatment.

Highlights: CRP and tumour progression engage in a dynamic, bidirectional circuit mediated by multiple mechanisms in neuroimmunology and cancer neuroscience. Analgesic interventions may affect tumour progression, while anticancer therapies can influence pain. Targeting pain in cancer may have promising therapeutic value in cancer progression.

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癌症相关疼痛：癌症进展的双向调节剂。

背景：肿瘤相关疼痛（cancer -related pain， CRP）在恶性肿瘤中具有较高的患病率和预后价值，它不仅是一种被动现象，而且与癌症进展存在双向串扰。主要主题：本文综述了CRP与癌症进展之间复杂的相互关系，描述了晚期癌症如何通过组织破坏、侵袭和炎症直接促进CRP，或间接通过肿瘤微环境中的炎症、神经、基质和代谢成分促进CRP。然而，该领域仍存在争议，例如感觉神经元在癌症进展中的模糊作用以及阿片类药物潜在的致瘤性风险。值得注意的是，CRP通过局部疼痛相关介质（例如，CGRP， SP），疼痛-应激轴，中央核介导的外周免疫调节，感觉-交感/迷走神经回路以及对肿瘤生物学的直接影响来调节癌症进展。结论：未来的研究应进一步阐明疼痛与癌症之间的相互作用机制，因为靶向CRP可能为抗癌治疗提供新的治疗机会。重点：在神经免疫学和肿瘤神经科学中，CRP和肿瘤进展参与了一个动态的、双向的回路，由多种机制介导。镇痛干预可能影响肿瘤进展，而抗癌治疗可以影响疼痛。在癌症进展中靶向疼痛可能具有良好的治疗价值。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Clinical and Translational Medicine Multiple-

CiteScore

15.90

自引率

1.90%

发文量

450

审稿时长

4 weeks

期刊介绍： Clinical and Translational Medicine (CTM) is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal dedicated to accelerating the translation of preclinical research into clinical applications and fostering communication between basic and clinical scientists. It highlights the clinical potential and application of various fields including biotechnologies, biomaterials, bioengineering, biomarkers, molecular medicine, omics science, bioinformatics, immunology, molecular imaging, drug discovery, regulation, and health policy. With a focus on the bench-to-bedside approach, CTM prioritizes studies and clinical observations that generate hypotheses relevant to patients and diseases, guiding investigations in cellular and molecular medicine. The journal encourages submissions from clinicians, researchers, policymakers, and industry professionals.