[Cellular and molecular mechanisms of perineural Invasion in gastric cancer].

Perineural invasion(PNI) is one of the important routes for metastasis of gastric carcinoma and results in local recurrence and cancer pain after radical gastrectomy. The dismal prognosis of gastric cancer has been intimately associated with lymph node metastasis, hematogenous metastasis that partly caused by PNI. Nerve, vascular and lymphatic constitutes the tumor microenvironment which plays a decisive role in the development of cancer. Molecular interaction and morphological change contribute to reciprocal signaling interactions between tumor cell and nerve. However, the underlying mechanism of PNI in gastric cancer is still unclear and needs further study. Here, we present a brief review of literatures on the topic of PNI in gastric cancer.