ArticleScientific reports2021
TNFα promotes oral cancer growth, pain, and Schwann cell activation.
Article in Scientific reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 63 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cancer-related pain: A bidirectional modulator of cancer progression.Clinical and translational medicine · 2026Review
- Neuroimmunology of Oral Cancer: Tumor Progression, Systemic Inflammation, and Neural Circuit Dysfunction from the Cerebellum to the Frontal Cortex.Molecular biology reports · 2026Review
- Cancer pain.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2026Review
- Hydrogels in head and neck cancer: Innovations and translational advances in research and therapy.Biomaterials · 2026Review
- MAPK-dependent release of GDNF from Schwann cells mediates tumor-independent pain in neurofibromatosis 1.Science signaling · 2026Article
- MMP1 and PRSS23 induce PARCommunications biology · 2026Article
- Mechanistic investigation of HMGB1 in an in vitro model of the trigeminovascular system under migraine-like conditions.The journal of headache and pain · 2026Article
- The Role of Proinflammatory Biomarkers in Oral Cancer Pathophysiology.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- Article
- Revolutionizing neural regeneration with smart responsive materials: Current insights and future prospects.Bioactive materials · 2025Review
- Pathologic and Therapeutic Schwann Cells.Cells · 2025Review
- Nerve growth factor: what can surgeons and oncologists learn from a neurological and psychological biomarker?Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2025Review
- Cancer neuroscience in head and neck: interactions, modulation, and therapeutic strategies.Molecular cancer · 2025Review
- Mechanisms for Orofacial Pain: Roles of Immunomodulation, Metabolic Reprogramming, Oxidative Stress and Epigenetic Regulation.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Pancreatic cancer extracellular vesicles stimulate Schwann cell activation and perineural invasion in vitro via IL-8/CCL2.In vitro models · 2025Article
- Neurotrophomodulatory effect of TNF-α through NF-κB in rat cortical astrocytes.Cytotechnology · 2025Review
- Sympathetic nerve signaling rewires the tumor microenvironment: a shift in "microenvironmental-ity".Cancer metastasis reviews · 2025Review
- Nerves at Play: The Peripheral Nervous System in Extracranial Malignancies.Cancer discovery · 2025Review
- Perineural invasion as a neuro-immune niche in head and neck cancer: mechanisms of immune evasion and therapeutic implications.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- TRPV4 activation in Schwann cells mediates mechanically induced pain of oral cancer.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Oral cancer is very painful and impairs a patient's ability to eat, talk, and drink. Mediators secreted from oral cancer can excite and sensitize sensory neurons inducing pain. Cancer mediators can also activate Schwann cells, the peripheral glia that regulates neuronal function and repair. The contribution of Schwann cells to oral cancer pain is unclear. We hypothesize that the oral cancer mediator TNFα activates Schwann cells, which further promotes cancer progression and pain. We demonstrate that TNFα is overexpressed in human oral cancer tissues and correlates with increased self-reported pain in patients. Antagonizing TNFα reduces oral cancer proliferation, cytokine production, and nociception in mice with oral cancer. Oral cancer or TNFα alone increases Schwann cell activation (measured by Schwann cell proliferation, migration, and activation markers), which can be inhibited by neutralizing TNFα. Cancer- or TNFα-activated Schwann cells release pro-nociceptive mediators such as TNFα and nerve growth factor (NGF). Activated Schwann cells induce nociceptive behaviors in mice, which is alleviated by blocking TNFα. Our study suggests that TNFα promotes cancer proliferation, progression, and nociception at least partially by activating Schwann cells. Inhibiting TNFα or Schwann cell activation might serve as therapeutic approaches for the treatment of oral cancer and associated pain.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.