Helping the immune system attack colorectal cancer by changing the tumor environment
Targeting the Immunosuppressive Tumor Microenvironment for Colorectal Cancer Treatment
This project tests whether boosting ketone levels with a ketogenic diet or the ketone body β-hydroxybutyrate can help immunotherapy work better for people with colorectal cancer that currently does not respond to immune treatments.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Kentucky NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Lexington, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11173897 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers are looking at how lowering cancer cells' suppression of the immune system might let immunotherapy work for more people with colorectal cancer. They will study whether a ketogenic diet or giving the ketone β-hydroxybutyrate changes cells in the tumor environment that block immune attacks. Much of the work uses laboratory and mouse models to understand how these changes affect immune cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts. The team hopes these findings could point to new ways to combine diet or ketone treatments with immune checkpoint drugs for patients.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates would be people with metastatic colorectal cancer, especially those with microsatellite-stable tumors that do not respond to current immune checkpoint therapies.
Not a fit: Patients whose tumors already respond to immunotherapy (for example MSI-high tumors), patients with other cancer types, or people unable to follow a ketogenic diet may not directly benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could make immunotherapy effective for many patients with microsatellite-stable metastatic colorectal cancer who currently have few options.
How similar studies have performed: Preclinical studies, including work from this team in mouse models, have shown that ketogenic approaches and β-hydroxybutyrate can boost the effect of immunotherapy, but this strategy remains largely untested in people.
Where this research is happening
Lexington, United States
- University of Kentucky — Lexington, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Wang, Qingding — University of Kentucky
- Study coordinator: Wang, Qingding
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.