Center for Gastric Pre-Cancer Atlas of Multidimensional Evolution in 3D
Official title: Center for Gastric Pre-Cancer Atlas of Multidimensional Evolution in 3D (GAME3D)
Funded at University of Tx Md Anderson Can Ctr · NIH-11552984 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A focused NIH grant is funding a project to map how early gastric cancer changes in 3D by combining spatial RNA and protein data on the same tissue, with a special look at hereditary diffuse gastric cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Tx Md Anderson Can Ctr NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Houston, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2024 |
| Project end | August 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $244,240 |
| NIH project number | 3U01CA294518-02S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11552984 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients with hereditary diffuse gastric cancer or related gastric lesions whose tissue samples can be used for spatial transcriptomics and proteomics.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without access to gastric tissue samples or whose tissue cannot be processed with the optimized workflow may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
This project aims to develop and optimize methods for profiling both RNA and proteins in the same tissue section from gastric cancer samples. It will create a workflow to preserve RNA and protein signals, improve tissue adherence, and accurately segment cells in complex tumor tissues. The effort includes building a pipeline to align measurements from different platforms on the same slide and to compare across indolent and advanced lesions. The work focuses on HDGC samples, where tumor cells are sparse and intermixed with surrounding tissue, to reveal meaningful spatial patterns. Results will guide future studies and help translate spatial biology findings toward better understanding and management of gastric cancer.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could enable more precise mapping of where cancer-related changes occur in gastric tissue, potentially informing earlier detection and tailored treatments.
How similar studies have gone: Precedent exists that multimodal spatial profiling can reveal important tissue architecture, though this exact integrated same-section workflow in HDGC is novel.
Where this research is happening
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University of Tx Md Anderson Can Ctr
Houston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Wang, Linghua — University of Tx Md Anderson Can Ctr
- Study coordinator: Wang, Linghua
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.