Lost rhythms : Breast cancer hijacks neuronal circuits that blunt GC rhythms to promote tumor progression

De Virgiliis, Francesco; Scheiermann, Christoph

doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2026.02.008

Scientific article

Comment

English

Lost rhythms : Breast cancer hijacks neuronal circuits that blunt GC rhythms to promote tumor progression

ContributorsDe Virgiliis, Francesco; Scheiermann, Christoph

Published inNeuron, vol. 114, no. 5, p. 789-790

Publication date2026-03-04

Abstract

Comment on : Gomez AM, Wu Y, Zhang C, Boyd L, Wee TL, Gewolb J, Amor C, Cheadle L, Borniger JC. Aberrant hypothalamic neuronal activity blunts glucocorticoid diurnal rhythms in murine breast cancer. Neuron. 2026 Mar 4;114(5):820-835.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2025.11.019. Epub 2025 Dec 15. PMID: 41401811; PMCID: PMC13251605.

Gomez et al. report that breast cancer disrupts diurnal glucocorticoid oscillations by disinhibiting hypothalamic CRH neurons. Time-specific neuromodulation restores rhythms and attenuates tumor growth by enhancing CD8⁺ T cell functions. This unveils a mechanism whereby cancer utilizes brain circuits that could be targetable with chronotherapy.

Keywords

Animals
Breast Neoplasms / physiopathology
Breast Neoplasms / pathology
Breast Neoplasms / metabolism
Humans
Female
Glucocorticoids / metabolism
Circadian Rhythm / physiology
Neurons / physiology
Disease Progression

UNIGE affiliation entities

Faculté de médecine / Section de médecine fondamentale / Département de pathologie et immunologie

UNIGE research groups

L'influence du rôle du cycle circadien sur l'immunité (995)

Citation (ISO format)

DE VIRGILIIS, Francesco, SCHEIERMANN, Christoph. Lost rhythms : Breast cancer hijacks neuronal circuits that blunt GC rhythms to promote tumor progression. In: Neuron, 2026, vol. 114, n° 5, p. 789–790. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2026.02.008

Article (Published version)

Identifiers

PID : unige:196462
DOI : 10.1016/j.neuron.2026.02.008
PMID : 41785843

Additional URL for this publicationhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627326000917

Journal ISSN0896-6273

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Lost rhythms : Breast cancer hijacks neuronal circuits that blunt GC rhythms to promote tumor progression

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