2023 journal article

Acute radiotherapy-associated oral pain may promote tumor growth at distant sites

FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY, 13.

By: C. Meneses n, E. Gidcumb  n, K. Marcus n, Y. Gonzalez n, Y. Lai  n, S. Mishra n, B. Lascelles  n, M. Nolan n 

author keywords: pain; radiotherapy; sensory nerves; cancer; mouse; TRPV1
TL;DR: This research points towards radiation-induced activation of capsaicin-responsive (TRPV1) neurons as the cause for accelerated growth of tumors at distant (unirradiated) sites. (via Semantic Scholar)
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Added: June 12, 2023

Patients developing acute radiotherapy induced dermatitis or oral mucositis commonly experience pain. When severe, this radiotherapy-associated pain (RAP) can necessitate treatment breaks; unfortunately, in a variety of cancers, prolongation of the radiotherapy course has been associated with early cancer relapse and/or death. This is often attributed to accelerated repopulation, but it is unknown whether pain or pain signaling constituents might alter tumor behavior and hasten metastatic disease progression. We studied this by testing the hypothesis that severe acute RAP at one site can hasten tumor growth at a distant site.