How social conditions and tumor biology drive lung cancer differences in African Americans
Official title: The interplay of social and molecular determinants in lung cancer disparity
Funded at Morehouse School of Medicine · NIH-11247958 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how neighborhood stress and immune signals in tumors may explain why African Americans often have more aggressive lung cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Morehouse School of Medicine NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Atlanta, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2022 |
| Project end | December 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $589,298 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA256724-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11247958 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer, especially African American patients willing to provide clinical data, blood, and tumor samples, are ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without non-small cell lung cancer, those unwilling to give tissue or blood samples, or those seeking immediate treatment changes may not directly benefit from participation.
What this research studies
If you join, you'll be asked to share health information, details about your neighborhood and stress experiences, and to provide blood and tumor samples. Researchers will analyze tumor immune signals, focusing on the CCR6/CCL20 pathway, and measure stress-related markers like cortisol. They will compare molecular and social data between African American and European American patients to see how these factors together relate to tumor aggressiveness. The goal is to link social conditions with biological changes that could help explain racial differences in lung cancer outcomes.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to new immune-targeted treatments or social interventions that reduce aggressive lung cancer in African American patients.
How similar studies have gone: Prior studies have linked immune pathways and stress hormones to cancer outcomes, but combining CCR6/CCL20 molecular analysis with neighborhood-level social factors to explain racial disparities is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Morehouse School of Medicine
Atlanta, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Singh, Shailesh — Morehouse School of Medicine
- Study coordinator: Singh, Shailesh
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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.