Reading time: 5 minutes Anthony Tao The modern computer has become a powerful part of society's infrastructure. Among millions of other things, computers are critical for facilitating financial services, research, communications, and politics. However, we can all perhaps agree that one of their LEAST important functions is the ability to recognize cats. However, in 2012,... Continue Reading →
Cancer Neuroscience: A New Field
Reading time: 6 minutes Ana Isabel Castillo Orozco "Cancer Neuroscience": This is the name given to a novel and exciting field that aims to study the complex interactions between the nervous system and cancer development. In recent years, increasing evidence has come to light that neuronal activity is crucial in regulating cancer initiation and progression.... Continue Reading →
Neurogenesis in cancer: How cancer cells metastasize using neurons as guides
Reading time: 4 minutes Suchitra Mitra Majority of cancer associated deaths occur from metastasis, when cells from the primary tumor migrate to a distant site within the body. The migration of cancer cells usually occurs via three routes — direct invasion of surrounding tissues, the circulatory system (ie, blood), and the lymphatic system. Recent developments... Continue Reading →
Connections between the gut and the brain: the key to reducing pain after chemotherapy?
Reading time: 5 minutes Kate Secombe Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a relatively common side-effect of some types of chemotherapy, affecting between 19 to 85% of people. It refers to a few different conditions involving damage to the peripheral nervous system. The peripheral nervous system sends signals back to the central nervous system (brain and... Continue Reading →
Cancer’s Got Nerve
Reading time: 4 minutes Nisitha Sengottuvel Cancer’s got nerve. We began discussing this earlier in the month with a blog post by Katelyn Fleishem. While neuronal activity has been implicated in the progression of tumor progression in prostate cancer, stomach cancer, colon cancers among others, the mechanisms of what role these neurons play are just... Continue Reading →
Making New Connections: Possible Cross-Talk Between Tumors and the Brain
Reading time: 3 minutes Kaitlyn Felsheim The nervous system is integral for communication between the brain and the rest of the body. It is responsible for relaying messages to breathe, eat, feel, blink, and perform other vital tasks. Neurons play a huge role in tissue development and specification, and it turns out that cancer cells... Continue Reading →
Can mental state affect tumor growth? The link between psychology, immunology, and oncology
Shaye Hagler At Oncobites, we’ve been talking a lot about the role of immunity in cancer. Understanding the immune system is vital to understanding both what drives cancer and what protects us against it. One of the biggest paradoxes in cancer research is that immune system activation is important in fighting cancer via a process... Continue Reading →