A new microscale lab platform that uses patient prostate tumor cells to test treatments
Official title: Evaluation of novel microscale cell culture platform for translational drug development in prostate cancer
Funded at Wm S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hosp · NIH-11099922 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses a tiny lab system that grows patient prostate tumor cells to help find treatments more likely to work for men with prostate cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Wm S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hosp NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Madison, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2023 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01CX002479-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11099922 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Men with prostate cancer, especially Veterans who can donate tumor tissue or blood during surgery or biopsy at the Madison VA hospital, are ideal candidates to contribute samples.
✕Less likely to help
Patients who cannot provide tissue or who need immediate clinical treatment are unlikely to benefit directly from this lab-based research.
What this research studies
Researchers will grow prostate tumor cells taken from patients inside a small open microfluidic device called Stacks that recreates the tumor microenvironment. They will combine tumor cells with other cell types to form multi-culture models and compare the cells' gene activity to the original patient tumors. The team will test how these models respond to different cancer drugs and compare those responses to traditional lab models. The goal is to see if the Stacks models predict which treatments will work in real patients better than current preclinical tests.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help scientists choose therapies that are more likely to work in men with prostate cancer and speed up development of better treatments.
How similar studies have gone: Organoid and microfluidic tumor models have shown promising results in predicting drug responses in some cancers, but they remain unproven as reliable predictors for prostate cancer in routine clinical use.
Where this research is happening
-
Wm S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hosp
Madison, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kosoff, David — Wm S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hosp
- Study coordinator: Kosoff, David
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.