How cancer-driven pathways create weak spots in chromosomes
Official title: Oncogenic pathway-induced fragile sites: a new paradigm for understanding genome instability in cancer
Funded at San Diego Biomedical Research Institute · NIH-11284014 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether cancer-related cell pathways cause fragile spots in chromosomes that lead to DNA breaks in tumors, aiming to help people with different cancers.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | San Diego Biomedical Research Institute NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Diego, United States) |
| Project start | March 10, 2022 |
| Project end | February 28, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $382,873 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA270335-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11284014 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be people with tumors that have had or could undergo whole-genome sequencing or who can donate tumor tissue for research.
✕Less likely to help
Patients whose tumors lack distinctive breakpoint patterns or who cannot access genomic testing or tissue donation may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
From a patient perspective, researchers are studying how pathways that go wrong in cancer create fragile sites in chromosomes that then break and drive tumor changes. They combine lab work with cultured cells under replication stress and large-scale tumor whole-genome sequencing to map where breaks occur. The team will make lab systems more like real cancers, track how initial breaks expand into complex genome rearrangements, and link breakpoint patterns back to specific disrupted pathways. Their goal is to create ways to read a tumor's breakpoint signature to reveal which cellular processes are damaged.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help doctors read tumor genomes to identify broken cell pathways and guide more precise, targeted treatments.
How similar studies have gone: Previous genome studies have identified breakpoint patterns and some fusion targets, but using breakpoint maps to predict disrupted pathways is a novel approach with limited prior clinical success.
Where this research is happening
-
San Diego Biomedical Research Institute
San Diego, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Gilbert, David M — San Diego Biomedical Research Institute
- Study coordinator: Gilbert, David M
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Immunize to Build Broad HIV Antibodies
A HIV vaccine grant tests new lab-made proteins and vaccines designed to help the immune system produce broadly protective antibodies for people at risk of HIV.
-
How cancer-linked pathways create fragile spots in DNA
This project looks at how cancer-related cellular pathways make weak spots in chromosomes so patterns in a tumor's genome can point to the pathways driving that cancer.
-
Cis-acting elements that control when DNA replication starts in development
Researchers are studying specific DNA sequences that help determine when and how quickly DNA replication happens in early cell development, with potential implications for cancer.
-
Nanoscale imaging of HIV Env complexes to improve NK cell antibody therapies
A study to better understand how HIV envelope immune complexes affect natural killer cell antibody therapies and how to design better antibodies.
-
Meth and HIV in the brain: how meth use may affect HIV latency and brain cells
A study to understand how methamphetamine use might change HIV behavior in brain cells and how that could influence HIV persistence and brain health in people living with HIV.
-
Role of a special interferon-responsive T cell in allergies and asthma
A study explores a unique interferon-responsive T cell type that may influence allergies and asthma, aiming to understand why some people become allergic and how this T cell subset could affect airway inflammation.
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.