Cancer risk in inflammatory muscle disease (myositis)
Official title: Prediction and Significance of Cancer in Idiopathic Inflammatory Myositis
Funded at Johns Hopkins University · NIH-11174212 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks for signs in people with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies that show whether they have or might develop cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Johns Hopkins University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2024 |
| Project end | July 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $512,586 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AR083912-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11174212 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People diagnosed with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (myositis), especially those newly diagnosed or with known myositis-specific autoantibodies, would be the best candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without myositis or those long past the typical cancer-risk window for their myositis are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
You would join a research effort focused on people with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) to find blood markers and clinical clues linked to cancer. The team will study myositis-specific autoantibodies, clinical records, and tumor information to see who develops cancer and how cancer emergence or removal affects myositis. Researchers will compare patients who get cancer to those who do not and use existing clinic samples and cohort data from Johns Hopkins and partner sites. The goal is to improve when and how patients are screened so fewer people get unnecessary tests and serious cancers are found earlier.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could help tailor cancer screening for people with myositis so that fewer patients undergo unnecessary tests while cancers are detected sooner.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies have linked certain myositis autoantibodies to higher cancer risk, but most patients with high-risk antibodies never develop cancer, so prediction has been limited.
Where this research is happening
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Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mecoli, Christopher — Johns Hopkins University
- Study coordinator: Mecoli, Christopher
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Myositis-ILD Risk Prediction: How ILD Progresses in Myositis Patients
A study to build better tools that predict how lung disease linked to myositis will behave in diverse patients.
-
Autoantibodies and membrane repair in myositis
A blood and tissue study seeks to understand how immune reactions against muscle repair proteins contribute to inflammatory myositis, with the goal of guiding better treatments for people with this condition.
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This work looks at how chikungunya virus can linger in joint and muscle cells and keep causing pain for people who had the infection.
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Autoantibodies against muscle membrane repair proteins in myositis
This work looks at whether people with myositis have antibodies that attack proteins that fix damaged muscle cell membranes and how that may cause muscle inflammation and weakness.
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Predicting lung disease outcomes in people with myositis
This project combines medical information and genetic markers to predict which people with myositis will have worsening interstitial lung disease.
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Understanding how Chikungunya virus causes long-lasting joint and muscle pain
This study is looking into how the Chikungunya virus can cause long-lasting joint and muscle pain in some people, and it aims to find out how the virus sticks around in the body so we can develop better treatments for those who are suffering.
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.