How aging bones help myeloma grow and resist treatment
Official title: An integrated mathematical modeling approach to define how the aging bone ecosystem drives multiple myeloma evolution and treatment response
Funded at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Ctr & Res Inst · NIH-11248324 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are combining lab experiments, aging mouse models, and computer-based models to map how changes in the aging bone environment let multiple myeloma cells survive treatment in older adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Ctr & Res Inst NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Tampa, United States) |
| Project start | January 1, 2025 |
| Project end | December 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $622,619 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA290007-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11248324 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with multiple myeloma—particularly older adults (about 65 and up)—could be candidates to provide bone marrow or tissue samples or to join future trials guided by this work.
✕Less likely to help
People without multiple myeloma, or patients seeking immediate changes to their own therapy, should not expect direct clinical benefit from this primarily preclinical and modeling project.
What this research studies
If you have multiple myeloma, this project uses lab work, aged mouse models, and computer-based math models to map how aging bones help myeloma cells survive and resist drugs like proteasome inhibitors and zoledronate. The team will analyze tissue and spatial gene activity and run simulations to see how drug-sensitive and drug-resistant cancer cell groups compete in the bone environment. They will test model predictions with experiments and explore adaptive treatment schedules intended to delay relapse. Findings are meant to guide future trials that could offer personalized treatment timing based on a patient’s bone marrow environment.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could inform treatment plans that make current myeloma drugs work better and delay relapse, especially in older patients.
How similar studies have gone: Proteasome inhibitors and bone-targeting drugs have improved outcomes and prior models offered insights, but integrating aging bone biology with spatial transcriptomics and adaptive therapy planning is a relatively new approach.
Where this research is happening
-
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Ctr & Res Inst
Tampa, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lynch, Conor C — H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Ctr & Res Inst
- Study coordinator: Lynch, Conor C
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Understanding how aging bones affect multiple myeloma and treatment responses
This study is looking at how aging bones affect multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, to help improve treatments and outcomes for patients like you by understanding how your age and bone health play a role in your care.
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Integrative study of multiple myeloma genetics and disease biology
A team at Dana-Farber and partners is pursuing a long-term project to understand the genetic and molecular drivers of multiple myeloma and how treatments interact with disease biology.
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Comparative Modeling to Prevent, Detect Early, and Treat Multiple Myeloma
A research team will build and compare computer models to understand how multiple myeloma develops, can be detected earlier, and treated more effectively.
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How LDL Affects Multiple Myeloma: New Pathways to Keep Remission
A new grant is studying how cholesterol from LDL particles fuels multiple myeloma and how this interaction influences the tumor environment and immune response, with goals to help patients stay in remission.
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Therapy-induced senescence and immune activation in multiple myeloma
A study in people with multiple myeloma will explore how treatment-related senescence in cancer cells may stimulate the immune system and affect cancer return after standard frontline therapy.
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BCMA CAR-T enteritis: understanding immune toxicities in multiple myeloma
A broad study to uncover why some CAR-T cell treatments targeting BCMA cause severe intestinal inflammation in people with multiple myeloma.
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.