Neural hijacking in cancer metabolism: from nutrients to organelles

Tumors dynamically interact with the central and peripheral nervous systems, hijacking neural plasticity and reprogramming metabolism in a bidirectional manner to drive cancer progression. Neural inputs reshape the metabolism of cancer cells and their microenvironment – glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation, and lipid metabolism – while tumors exploit neuronal nutrients and mitochondria to thrive under metabolic stress. This review explores neurocancer metabolic crosstalk through multiple mechanisms by three principal modes of interaction, highlighting how targeting these metabolic interdependencies could disrupt tumor progression. By integrating cancer metabolism and neuroscience, it offers a conceptual framework for understanding neural-tumor metabolic circuits in malignancy and identifies potential therapeutic vulnerabilities.