Blocking NRF2 to help radiation work better for head and neck cancer
Official title: Drugging NRF2 to improve radiation therapy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
Funded at Washington University · NIH-11249676 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Trying drugs that block a protein called NRF2 to help radiation therapy work better for people with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Washington University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Saint Louis, United States) |
| Project start | December 19, 2024 |
| Project end | November 30, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $633,743 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA290809-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11249676 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be people with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma whose tumors show high NRF2 activity or who have tumors that resist radiation.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with non-squamous head and neck cancers, tumors without NRF2 activation, or those not receiving radiation are unlikely to benefit from these NRF2-targeting approaches.
What this research studies
You would be affected because researchers are focusing on NRF2, a protein that makes many head and neck cancers harder to treat with radiation. They will test two different NRF2-blocking chemicals that showed promise in earlier lab screens, using tumor tissue studies and animal models to see whether the drugs make tumors more sensitive to radiation. The team will look at tumor growth, changes in cancer cell metabolism, and immune cell presence to pick the best candidate to move toward human testing.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could make radiation therapy more effective for patients with NRF2-active head and neck cancers, lowering the chance of local treatment failure.
How similar studies have gone: Preclinical lab work and mouse studies have suggested NRF2 inhibition can sensitize tumors to radiation, but NRF2-targeting drugs have not yet proven effective in patients.
Where this research is happening
-
Washington University
Saint Louis, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Major, Michael Benjamin — Washington University
- Study coordinator: Major, Michael Benjamin
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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.