{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,22]],"date-time":"2026-09-22T10:09:12Z","timestamp":1790071752794,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,22]],"date-time":"2026-09-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790035200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Oncol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Cancer neuroscience has established that peripheral nerves can shape tumor growth and antitumor immunity, although the underlying mechanisms vary across malignancies. Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), released mainly by peptidergic nociceptors and sensed through the CALCRL\/RAMP1 receptor complex, is emerging as a recurrent mediator of tumor-nerve communication. This review synthesizes current evidence for CGRP signaling across tumor types. In melanoma and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), CGRP can directly suppress tumor-infiltrating T cell activity. In lung adenocarcinoma, it acts through a macrophage-fibroblast relay that limits tertiary lymphoid structure assembly. In medullary thyroid cancer, tumor-associated CGRP is linked to abnormal dendritic cell development. In pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, nociceptor-derived CGRP participates in a reciprocal interaction with cancer-associated fibroblasts that lowers IL-15 and suppresses natural killer cells. Additional studies identify tumor-intrinsic outputs, including gastric tumor growth, CGRP-dependent cytoprotective autophagy in oral cancer, and RAMP1-dependent growth in gastrointestinal cancer models. Liver data currently support a role in fibrogenesis, while the relevance of this pathway to hepatocellular carcinoma remains unresolved. Together, these findings support a shared nociceptor-CGRP signaling system with tumor-specific cellular outputs. CGRP-pathway drugs and nociceptor-directed interventions therefore warrant tumor-specific translational studies, although anticancer efficacy remains predominantly preclinical.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fonc.2026.1968354","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,22]],"date-time":"2026-09-22T09:50:54Z","timestamp":1790070654000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The CGRP-nociceptor axis in cancer: tumor-specific programs of immune evasion, stromal remodeling, and tumor growth"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Yunqi","family":"Hua","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oncology, Baotou Cancer Hospital","place":["Baotou, China"]},{"name":"Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Life Health and Bioinformatics, School of Life Science and Technology, Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology","place":["Baotou, 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