Calcitonin gene-related peptide: A promising bridge between cancer development and cancer-associated pain in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Yu Zhang; Chengzhong Lin; Xu Wang; Tong Ji

doi:10.3892/ol.2020.12116

Calcitonin gene-related peptide: A promising bridge between cancer development and cancer-associated pain in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Oncol Lett. 2020 Nov;20(5):253. doi: 10.3892/ol.2020.12116. Epub 2020 Sep 18.

Authors

Yu Zhang^{1

2}, Chengzhong Lin^{1

2}, Xu Wang^{1

2}, Tong Ji^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Head and Neck Oncology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200011, P.R. China.
² Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology and Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200011, P.R. China.

Abstract

Nerves have been widely demonstrated to exert major effects in tumor-associated microenvironments. Due to the characteristic innervation of the oral cavity and the fact that cancer-associated pain is a distinct feature of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), the sensory nerves may dominate in the OSCC-nerve microenvironment. As the most abundant neuropeptide in the trigeminal ganglion, the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) exerts a dual effect on cancer development and cancer-associated pain in various types of cancer. The present review explored the potential molecular mechanisms of the roles of CGRP in cancer development and cancer-associated pain, suggesting that CGRP may be a promising therapeutic target for OSCC.

Keywords: calcitonin gene-related peptide; cancer-associated pain; immune evasion; internalization; metabolic reprogramming; oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Publication types

Review