Fig. 4
From: Cancer neuroscience in head and neck: interactions, modulation, and therapeutic strategies
The key mechanisms of neuro-cancer crosstalk in HNC. In neuro-cancer crosstalk in HNC, cancer cells and neurons can interact with each other through various effector molecules, including neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, neurotrophic factors, extracellular vesicles and chemokines. Among these mechanisms, the roles of MMP, Akt signaling pathway, MEK/ERK signaling pathway and EMT in neuro-cancer crosstalk have been validated many times. (Figure created with BioRender)