Neuropeptide CGRP drives gastrointestinal cancer growth through its receptor RAMP1, and tumors produce their own CGRP

RAMP1 expression was associated with reduced survival in CRC and GC. Over 50% of CRC and 60% of GC cells expressed RAMP1. Tumor cells themselves produced CGRP (not just nerves). CGRP stimulation enhanced tumor growth in a RAMP1-dependent manner, activating proliferation, metabolism, and migration pathways.

Analysis of 180 patient samples using multiplex immunohistochemistry, TCGA survival data analysis, in vitro stimulation assays on tumor cell lines and patient-derived organoids, and RNA sequencing for mechanistic pathway analysis.

This study reveals that gastrointestinal cancers can exploit and even produce neuropeptides to fuel their own growth, opening a new therapeutic avenue. CGRP-blocking drugs already exist for migraine—they could potentially be repurposed for cancer treatment.

This work adds to growing evidence that the nervous system is not just a bystander in cancer but an active participant. The discovery that tumors produce their own CGRP creates an autocrine growth loop that could be targeted therapeutically, potentially with existing anti-CGRP drugs developed for migraines.

Primarily correlative in patient samples; mechanistic work limited to in vitro and organoid models. No in vivo tumor treatment studies. CGRP-blocking therapies for cancer remain untested. Association between RAMP1 expression and survival does not prove causation.