How liver damage and cell fitness drive beta‑catenin liver cancer
Official title: Hepatic Tissue Integrity and Clonal Fitness: Key Factors in Controlling β-Catenin Induced Oncogenesis
Funded at Research Inst of Fox Chase Can Ctr · NIH-11284077 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This work looks at how aging and chronic liver disease change the liver so cells with beta‑catenin mutations can grow into hepatocellular carcinoma, aiming to help people at risk for liver cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Research Inst of Fox Chase Can Ctr NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project start | March 1, 2024 |
| Project end | March 2, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $523,854 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA289703-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11284077 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, or who are at elevated risk for hepatocellular carcinoma — especially those known to have CTNNB1/β‑catenin mutations — would be the most relevant candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without liver disease or those with cancers unrelated to β‑catenin are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this work.
What this research studies
If you have chronic liver disease or are at risk for liver cancer, this research aims to understand how aging and liver damage let cells with β‑catenin mutations expand. Researchers will use long‑term mouse models and tissue analyses to track how mutated and normal liver cells compete over time and how tissue structure and function affect that competition. They will study molecular signals and cell behaviors that let mutated cells gain a growth advantage and form tumors. The goal is to identify points where interventions might prevent mutated cells from taking over and progressing to hepatocellular carcinoma.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could point to new ways to prevent or slow the progression to hepatocellular carcinoma in people with chronic liver disease or β‑catenin alterations.
How similar studies have gone: Previous animal and tissue studies support a role for β‑catenin mutations and cell competition in liver cancer, but long‑term in vivo tracking of how aging and chronic liver disease reshape clonal fitness is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Research Inst of Fox Chase Can Ctr
Philadelphia, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Font-Burgada, Joan — Research Inst of Fox Chase Can Ctr
- Study coordinator: Font-Burgada, Joan
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.