Gastrointestinal cancers: how stem cells and their environment shape cancer growth
Official title: The role of stem cells and the microenvironment in gastrointestinal cancers
Funded at Columbia University Health Sciences · NIH-11391403 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A research project at Columbia University Health Sciences studies how stomach, esophagus, and other GI cancers start and evolve by looking at stem cells, nerve signals, and the surrounding tissue.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Columbia University Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | January 7, 2016 |
| Project end | August 31, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $987,000 |
| NIH project number | 5R35CA210088-11 |
| Project ID | NIH-11391403 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients with GI cancers or pre-cancerous GI conditions, and healthy individuals contributing tissue samples for research, may benefit from future advances stemming from this work.
✕Less likely to help
Individuals not involved in tissues or data sharing or those without GI conditions may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
This program looks at how chronic inflammation in the GI tract influences the early steps of cancer by examining stem cells, their progenitors, and the supportive tissue around them. Using 3D organoid models, lineage tracing, single-cell RNA sequencing, and advanced bioinformatics, scientists aim to understand how normal stem cells become cancerous and how nerves and the microenvironment contribute to this process. The work prioritizes translating basic insights into ways to prevent or slow GI cancers and to identify new therapeutic targets. The study builds on years of findings about esophagitis, gastritis, colitis, and pancreatitis and their link to cancer development. The team uses human-relevant models to illuminate early carcinogenic events that could inform future patient care.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Gaining clearer insight into how GI cancers begin could lead to earlier detection and new strategies to prevent or treat these cancers.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work using organoids and single-cell analyses has revealed important mechanisms in GI cancer development, with growing translational potential.
Where this research is happening
-
Columbia University Health Sciences
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Wang, Timothy Cragin — Columbia University Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Wang, Timothy Cragin
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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.