About 15 years ago, Stanford Medicine neuro-oncologist Michelle Monje, MD, PhD, began to suspect that the brain tumors she studied were doing something strange. Cancer cells sometimes copycat their healthy counterparts, so Monje and her team weren’t surprised to uncover simple parallels between healthy and malignant brain cells. The cancer’s biological “borrowing” was similar to a symphony-goer who whistles the theme from a concerto on the bus ride home.

But the team’s data hinted that these brain tumors were orchestrating something much more complex. Instead of just humming the themes of healthy brain biology, the research suggested the tumors could round up many important cell-signaling instruments — the microscopic equivalents of, say, violins, cellos, flutes and trombones — and use them to play a score of its own.

In physiologic terms, Monje’s team gradually demonstrated, certain cancer cells form working electrical connections with nearby nerves. The tumors wire themselves neatly into the brain’s electrical apparatus, then use healthy nerves’ signals for their own purposes — to drive malignant growth. These cancers also hijack the machinery of learning to strengthen connections with the healthy brain and further enhance their ability to multiply.