How the tumor neighborhood affects low-grade glioma turning into a more dangerous cancer
Understanding the role of tumor microenvironment in low grade glioma progression to malignancy
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 ID | NIH-11174518 on NIH RePORTER |
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.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are people diagnosed with low-grade glioma who can donate tumor tissue or participate in related follow-up studies at participating centers.
Not a fit: 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.
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 performed: 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
Pasadena, United States
- California Institute of Technology — Pasadena, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Cai, Long — California Institute of Technology
- Study coordinator: Cai, Long
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 below.