Sensory nerves send lymphoid assembly up in smoke.

Nociceptor activation via CGRP impairs lymphoid tissue formation, with cigarette smoke enhancing this neuroimmune pathway to promote tumor growth.

• Why it matters: Understanding how sensory neurons influence tumor progression is crucial, as their signals may hinder effective antitumor immune responses, representing a gap in cancer immunology.
• What they did: Ho et al. examined the role of nociceptors and CGRP in tumor environments, demonstrating that cigarette smoke activates this pathway, leading to disrupted TLS assembly and increased tumor growth.
• The result: This work reveals a neuroimmune mechanism by which cigarette smoke accelerates cancer progression, highlighting potential targets for therapies that restore immune organization within tumors.