How the tumor neighborhood affects low-grade glioma turning into a more dangerous cancer
Official title: Understanding the role of tumor microenvironment in low grade glioma progression to malignancy
Funded at California Institute of Technology · NIH-11174518 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers will map cells and molecules inside low-grade glioma tumors to find signs that predict which tumors in people may become malignant.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | California Institute of Technology NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Pasadena, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2024 |
| Project end | August 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $4,206,752 |
| NIH project number | 4U01CA294551-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11174518 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people diagnosed with low-grade glioma who can donate tumor tissue or participate in related follow-up studies at participating centers.
✕Less likely to help
People without low-grade glioma or those unable to provide tumor samples or access participating centers are unlikely to be eligible or to get direct benefit from this project.
What this research studies
From the patient's perspective, teams at Caltech and UCLA will build a detailed map of low-grade glioma tumors using pieces of tumor tissue collected from patients. They will use advanced spatial methods to measure thousands of RNAs, multiple proteins, and DNA changes in each sample to see how tumor cells and surrounding cells are arranged and behave. The project compares tumors that later became aggressive with those that stayed indolent to find patterns that mark higher risk. The work uses about 200 human tumor samples from the UCLA Brain Tumor Translation Resource and high-sensitivity seqFISH and multiplexed assays to create an integrated atlas.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help doctors identify which low-grade gliomas are likely to become aggressive and point to ways to prevent malignant transformation.
How similar studies have gone: Spatial and single-cell mapping approaches have provided useful tumor biology insights in other cancers, but applying this specific multi-modal spatial atlas to predict low-grade glioma progression is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Cai, Long — California Institute of Technology
- Study coordinator: Cai, Long
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Exploring how the environment around low-grade gliomas affects their progression to cancer
This study is looking at low-grade gliomas to find out why some of these brain tumors become more serious while others don’t, and it involves patients providing samples to help researchers create a detailed map that could lead to better ways to prevent tumor progression.
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OPTIMUM: Engaging LGG patients in understanding how low-grade brain tumors evolve
A large study plans to involve people with low-grade glioma to map how their tumors change from initial diagnosis to recurrence using patient-friendly data sharing and trial connections.
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Targeted therapies for pediatric low-grade glioma
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A pediatric brain tumor project is exploring whether blocking a specific sugar-modifying process called POMT-mediated O-mannosylation can stop tumor growth in tumors driven by KIAA1549-BRAF fusions.
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Druggable targets in pediatric low-grade glioma through multi-modal data and screening
A pediatric brain tumor study aims to find new drug targets by integrating imaging, genetics, and biology data to tailor treatments for children with low-grade gliomas.
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.