How breast cancer metabolism affects nerve growth in tumors
Official title: Investigating the role of metabolic rewiring in breast tumor innervation
Funded at University of Arkansas at Fayetteville · NIH-11326286 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether changes in breast cancer cell metabolism cause nerves to grow into tumors and help the cancer spread, which could matter for people with breast cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R37 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Arkansas at Fayetteville NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Fayetteville, United States) |
| Project start | May 1, 2024 |
| Project end | April 30, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $497,581 |
| NIH project number | 5R37CA279722-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11326286 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be people with breast cancer who can donate tumor tissue or consent to their tumor samples being analyzed for research.
✕Less likely to help
People without breast cancer or those unable to provide tumor tissue are unlikely to directly benefit from this specific research.
What this research studies
This project uses human tumor samples, 3‑D tumor models, and animal experiments to study how changes in cancer cell metabolism encourage nerve fibers to grow into breast tumors. Scientists will examine metabolic programs like aerobic glycolysis and glutamine use, measure neurotrophin release and extracellular matrix changes, and manipulate these pathways to see if reducing metabolic rewiring lowers tumor innervation and metastasis. The team aims to connect findings from lab models back to actual patient tumors to identify metabolic targets that could block nerve-driven spread.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify metabolic targets that prevent nerve growth into tumors and reduce the risk of breast cancer spreading.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work has linked tumor innervation and metabolic changes to worse outcomes, but directly targeting metabolic drivers of nerve growth is a relatively new and still experimental approach.
Where this research is happening
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University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
Fayetteville, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Song, Younghye — University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
- Study coordinator: Song, Younghye
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.