How chronic acid reflux may cause harmful protein clumps that lead to esophagus cancer
Official title: Regulation of protein aggregation and tumorigenesis by gastroesophageal reflux
Funded at Miami VA Health Care System · NIH-11185178 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tests whether long-term acid reflux causes damaging protein clumps in esophagus cells of people with chronic GERD or Barrett's esophagus that can help drive esophageal cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Miami VA Health Care System NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Miami, United States) |
| Project start | January 1, 2026 |
| Project end | December 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 1I01BX006794-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11185178 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates for outcomes of this work are people with long-standing GERD or Barrett's esophagus who are at higher risk for esophageal adenocarcinoma.
✕Less likely to help
People whose cancers are not related to reflux or who are seeking immediate treatment today are unlikely to get direct benefit from this basic and preclinical research.
What this research studies
If you have long-term acid reflux, this project looks at how acidic stomach fluid and the resulting oxidative stress make proteins in your esophagus cells stick together and malfunction. The team will recreate reflux damage using lab-grown esophageal cells and animal models to measure protein misfolding and aggregation. They will examine specific chemical processes, including dicarbonyl-driven changes and effects on tumor-suppressing proteins like p53, to see how damaged cells survive and become cancerous. The researchers aim to find molecular targets that could be blocked or reversed to prevent progression to esophageal adenocarcinoma.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to new ways to prevent or treat esophageal cancer by stopping or reversing reflux-induced protein damage before cancer develops.
How similar studies have gone: Prior studies have linked reflux to oxidative DNA damage and cancer risk, but using dicarbonyl-driven protein aggregation as a core mechanism is a newer, still largely unproven approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Miami VA Health Care System
Miami, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zaika, Alexander I. — Miami VA Health Care System
- Study coordinator: Zaika, Alexander I.
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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.