One of the reasons that pancreatic cancer remains such a stubbornly dismal disease is that it is extremely desmoplastic. In other words, most of a pancreatic tumor is not made up of tumor cells, but of stroma. Stroma, in turn, is a double-edged sword for the tumor cells. Its connective tissue component impedes blood flow, which is part of what makes pancreatic cancer so drug-resistant. But the lack of blood also means a lack of oxygen and nutrients, so pancreatic tumors must find alternate ways to feed themselves. That’s where nerves come in. In the Nov. 2, 2020, online issue of Cell, researchers published new insights into how innervation feeds tumors, and how to stop them from doing so.