Blocking arginine-modifying enzymes for aggressive ovarian and triple-negative breast cancer
Official title: Protein arginine methyltransferase inhibitors in treatment of high-grade serous ovarian cancer and triple-negative breast cancer
Funded at University of Pennsylvania · NIH-11179474 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are testing whether drugs that block PRMT enzymes, used with other cancer medicines, can better control high-grade serous ovarian cancer and triple-negative breast cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Pennsylvania NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project start | August 29, 2024 |
| Project end | July 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $530,697 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA285598-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11179474 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be people with high-grade serous ovarian cancer or triple-negative breast cancer—especially tumors with DNA repair defects like BRCA mutations—if and when combined treatments reach clinical testing.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without these cancer types or whose tumors lack the specific molecular features targeted by PRMT inhibitors are unlikely to benefit from this research in the near term.
What this research studies
This project focuses on two hard-to-treat cancers—high-grade serous ovarian cancer and triple-negative breast cancer—and looks at drugs that block protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs), enzymes that are higher in many cancers. Scientists will use lab-grown cancer cells, genetic profiling, and animal models to see how PRMT blockers work and which drug combinations might make them more effective. The team combines large-scale drug pairing tests with cancer genome data to find combinations that could overcome resistance to single drugs. The goal is to identify mechanism-based combination treatments that could move into early human trials for patients with these cancers.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to new combination therapies that improve outcomes for patients with aggressive ovarian and triple-negative breast cancers.
How similar studies have gone: Some PRMT inhibitors are already in early human trials but single-agent activity has been limited, so combining PRMT blockers with other drugs is a newer and less-tested approach.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zhang, Lin — University of Pennsylvania
- Study coordinator: Zhang, Lin
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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PRMT inhibitors as a new approach for ovarian and breast cancer
A cancer research project tests whether drugs that block arginine methylation can help treat high-grade serous ovarian cancer and triple-negative breast cancer.
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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.