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What happens when tumors get nervous?

12 mill NOK was today (Dec. 20, 2024) awarded to Lars A. Akslen and Heidrun Vethe from the Research Council of Norway (FRIPRO) on the project "When breast cancer hits a nerve - neural involvement as a hallmark of tumor progression."

Lars and Heidrun together in the lab.
Lars A. Akslen and Heidrun Vethe are ready to take on the nerve structures in malignant tumors.
Photo:
CCBIO, Ingvild Festervoll Melien

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There is currently very limited knowledge on the potential role of nerve structures in malignant tumors. What happens when tumors get nervous? Do they become more aggressive? These are questions that Akslen and Vethe will study by using a combination of advanced tissue analysis (imaging mass cytometry) and a range of experimental models. 

“We are starting to think that the presence of nervous systems in malignant tumors represents a novel “hallmark of cancer”. This grant is very important for us in the early stages of our breast cancer neuroscience program,” Akslen says. 

Congratulations to Lars A. Akslen and Heidrun Vethe!