Role of dopamine in malignant tumor growth

The regulatory role of dopamine, a monoamine neurotransmitter and/or a neur ohormone in controlling the secretion of several anterior pituitary hormone s, cardiovascular, and renal functions, has already been extensively used b y clinicians for therapeutic purposes, In addition to these important funct ions of dopamine, some recent reports also indicate its novel role in regul ating malignant cell proliferation and controlling immune functions in tu m or-bearing animals, Therefore, in this article, we discuss all the relevant information correlating dopamine and malignant tumor growth in order to un derstand the host-tumor relationship at the level of a neurotransmitter and /or a neurohormone.