Exosome markers to tell if kidney cancer immunotherapy is working
Exosome Signatures of Kidney Cancer Response to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor
We will look for proteins and RNA in blood and urine exosomes to see if they can show early whether immunotherapy helps people with metastatic kidney cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Stanford University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Stanford, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11308288 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you have metastatic kidney cancer and start nivolumab plus ipilimumab, the team will collect blood and urine samples before and after treatment and measure exosomal proteins (including KIM‑1 and PD‑L1) and microRNAs. Researchers will compare those molecular signals to routine CT scans done about 2–3 months after starting therapy to find changes that appear earlier. The goal is to find patterns in exosomes that show who is responding and who is not so ineffective therapy can be stopped sooner. Sample collection and imaging will follow standard clinic visits.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are people with metastatic renal cell carcinoma starting first-line combination immunotherapy with nivolumab plus ipilimumab who can give blood and urine samples and return for scheduled CT scans.
Not a fit: People with early-stage kidney cancer, those not receiving this immunotherapy combination, or those unwilling/unable to provide blood or urine samples are unlikely to benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could let doctors identify responders sooner and stop ineffective immunotherapy earlier so patients can try other treatments.
How similar studies have performed: Biomarker work using blood-based proteins and exosomal RNAs has shown promise in other cancers but remains exploratory and not yet established for routine care in kidney cancer.
Where this research is happening
Stanford, United States
- Stanford University — Stanford, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Fan, Alice Chen — Stanford University
- Study coordinator: Fan, Alice Chen
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 below.