Detecting early treatment-resistant changes in prostate cancer with blood and single-cell epigenetic tests
Official title: Mapping the epigenetic dynamics of prostate cancer progression: integrating liquid biopsies and single-cell epigenomics for early detection of lineage plasticity and clinical decision-making
Funded at Dana-Farber Cancer Inst · NIH-11292847 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses blood-based liquid biopsies and single-cell epigenetic tests to look for early signs that prostate cancer is becoming resistant to hormone-blocking treatments.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Dana-Farber Cancer Inst NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | March 1, 2025 |
| Project end | February 28, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $406,450 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA300092-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11292847 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Men with advanced or castration-resistant prostate cancer, especially those starting or progressing on androgen receptor signaling inhibitors like enzalutamide, would be the most relevant candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Men with early-stage localized prostate cancer not receiving AR-targeted therapies or those without available blood or biopsy samples may not directly benefit from this work.
What this research studies
Researchers will collect blood and tumor samples from men with prostate cancer and analyze them for epigenetic marks that show cells are changing identity. They will apply single-cell epigenomic methods to see which tumor cells are shifting toward a neuroendocrine, treatment-resistant state. Parallel liquid biopsy tests will be used to try to detect those epigenetic changes noninvasively. The team aims to create signatures that could warn clinicians before resistance becomes clinically apparent and help guide treatment choices.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could enable earlier detection of treatment-resistant prostate cancer and help doctors choose better therapies sooner.
How similar studies have gone: Blood-based tumor DNA tests and some epigenetic assays have shown promise for detecting resistance, but applying single-cell epigenomics to catch neuroendocrine transdifferentiation early is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Dana-Farber Cancer Inst
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Freedman, Matthew L — Dana-Farber Cancer Inst
- Study coordinator: Freedman, Matthew L
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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.