Previous research has revealed that some downstream hormones or effectors of the hypothalamic-pituitary (HP) unit, such as glucocorticoids, estrogen and progesterone, are elevated in patients with cancer. It was also shown that these hormones regulate the function of immune cells in the tumor microenvironment, suggesting that the neuroendocrine system and HP unit might modulate tumor immunity. In the current study, researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China aimed to investigate the role of HP unit in tumor immunity.

Targeted therapy offers an opportunity for personalized medicine that's specific for a patient's tumor, but the hyper-focused treatment creates possibilities for cells to mutate and become resistant to the therapy.

Despite the arrival of FDA-approved tissue-agnostic targeted cancer therapies, there is increasing recognition that the response of tumors that are driven by the same oncogene differs according to their location.

The Warburg effect – the marked preference of tumors for fueling themselves via anaerobic metabolism – was described more than 90 years ago. Otto Warburg won the Nobel Prize for his discovery in 1931, and research into the phenomenon long dominated the field of tumor metabolism. Over the past decade, however, there has been increased attention to the fact that tumor metabolism is deregulated in multiple ways beyond the Warburg effect.