Nerve blocking drugs could help stop head, neck cancer from growing, study finds

Drugs blocking activity of sensory nerves could stop or slow certain head and neck cancers from growing, new research has found. Studying interactions between nerves and tumour microenvironments, researchers found that sensory nerves helped accelerate tumour growth by preventing the immune system from generating specific T-cells, important to fighting disease within the tumour tissue. Nerve blocking agents could thus be used together with radiation and other currently available treatment regimens, the researchers said.