Solid Stress in Brain Tumors

A solid brain tumor mass places compressive forces on adjacent normal brain tissue, and clinically presents as impaired motor performance in cancer patients, ultimately limiting their quality of life. In a recent article by Jain and colleagues (Nat. Biomed. Eng. 2019;3:230–245), the biological consequences of mechanical forces imparted by a growing tumor mass are explored in both mouse models and human brain tumors, revealing a novel opportunity for therapeutic intervention.