Growing tumor cells without normal cell takeover
Culture of tumor versus normal cells
This project develops a way to grow patients' tumor cells in the lab by stopping normal cells from outgrowing them, so researchers can make more accurate models of individual cancers.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Weill Medical Coll of Cornell Univ NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11249985 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You may be asked to provide a tumor sample from surgery or a biopsy so researchers can try a tumor-specific culture medium that limits normal cell growth and favors cancer cells. The team will use these methods to create patient-derived cell cultures and mouse tumor grafts, including from very small or chemotherapy-treated tumor fragments. They will compare the lab-grown models to the original tumors to confirm the models keep the same molecular and histologic features. The group aims to publish simple, reliable methods and validation steps so other labs can build more diverse, patient-representative cancer models.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are people who can donate tumor tissue, especially patients with ovarian cancer or those with small residual tumor after chemotherapy who can provide a biopsy or surgical sample.
Not a fit: Patients who cannot provide tumor tissue, who have cancers not amenable to tissue sampling (for example many blood cancers), or who need immediate treatment are unlikely to receive direct benefit from participation.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could produce many more faithful patient-derived tumor models to help test and speed development of better treatments for individual cancers.
How similar studies have performed: Other groups have created patient-derived cell lines and xenografts and this team has already published 25 new ovarian cancer lines, but reliably growing tumor cells from tiny or treated samples remains challenging and relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
New York, United States
- Weill Medical Coll of Cornell Univ — New York, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ince, Tan a. — Weill Medical Coll of Cornell Univ
- Study coordinator: Ince, Tan a.
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.