How small cell lung cancer fixes DNA damage during treatment
Official title: Repair Mechanisms of Replication fork Lesions in SCLC
Funded at New York University School of Medicine · NIH-11171396 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are looking at how small cell lung cancer cells get and repair DNA damage during therapy to understand why some tumors respond and others become resistant.
Quick facts
| Grant type | P01 program project |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | New York University School of Medicine NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | August 16, 2024 |
| Project end | July 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $351,701 |
| NIH project number | 5P01CA288368-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11171396 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with a diagnosis of small cell lung cancer, especially those willing to provide tumor samples or consider future trials based on these findings, would be the most relevant candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without small cell lung cancer or those seeking an immediate change to their current clinical care are unlikely to see direct short-term benefits from this basic/translational research.
What this research studies
This project looks at the specific kinds of DNA damage that happen when small cell lung cancer cells copy their DNA and how those lesions are fixed. Scientists will compare tumors and cell models that are treatment-naïve with ones that have become therapy-resistant to see what changes. The work uses cellular experiments and sensitive single-molecule assays to map damage types and repair steps, and will test how new targeted drugs affect those processes. Findings could point to weak spots in resistant tumors that new treatments might exploit.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal repair weaknesses in small cell lung cancer that lead to better-targeted therapies and improved responses for patients.
How similar studies have gone: Targeting DNA repair has helped in other cancers, but applying detailed replication-fork and single-molecule approaches specifically to small cell lung cancer is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
New York University School of Medicine
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Rothenberg, Eli — New York University School of Medicine
- Study coordinator: Rothenberg, Eli
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Role of Twice-Daily Thoracic Radiotherapy in Limited-Stage SCLC in the Immunotherapy Era
This project looks at whether giving twice-daily radiotherapy for limited-stage small cell lung cancer still helps patients today who are also getting immunotherapy.
-
SCLC model creation and therapy testing
A cancer research program using mouse models and engineered human and mouse cells to study small cell lung cancer and test potential treatments.
-
Impact of genetic changes on SCLC subtypes and treatment response
This project explores how specific genetic changes in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) affect the disease and how it responds to targeted drugs.
-
Repair mechanisms for DNA lesions in small cell lung cancer
Researchers are studying how cancer cells with small cell lung cancer respond or become resistant to treatment by looking at the ways DNA damage is repaired.
-
Understanding how replication stress affects a hard-to-treat breast cancer gene patients may carry
This grant explores how certain breast cancer gene defects interact with replication stress to influence cancer cell survival and treatment resistance, with potential implications for therapies in patients with BRCA2-related breast cancer.
-
Replication Stress Sensing Defects in Small Cell Lung Cancer
A study in people might not be involved directly, but it aims to understand why a common lung cancer responds poorly to therapy over time by examining how cancer cells handle replication stress.
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.