How tissue stiffness and tension drive cancer and spread
Official title: Tissue mechanics reprograms the tissue to malignancy and metastasis
Funded at University of California, San Francisco · NIH-11180066 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how stiff or tense tissues can make normal cells become cancerous and help tumors spread, with a focus on breast and other solid cancers.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Francisco NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Francisco, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2020 |
| Project end | August 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $955,470 |
| NIH project number | 5R35CA242447-06 |
| Project ID | NIH-11180066 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with breast or other solid-organ cancers, and patients with chronically inflamed tissues at higher cancer risk, could be candidates for sample donation or future clinical trials stemming from this work.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with blood cancers or those needing immediate clinical treatment may not directly benefit from this mechanobiology-focused research in the short term.
What this research studies
The team studies how the tissue scaffold (the extracellular matrix) and physical tension change cell behavior using 3D cell cultures and animal models that mimic stiff or inflamed tissues. They measure changes in cell signaling, cytoskeleton, and mitochondrial stress as well as how immune cells respond in those environments. Researchers will search for molecular signs (biomarkers) of high-risk tissues and test targets that might prevent or reverse stiffness-driven malignant changes. The goal is to use those findings to inform new tests for risk and new therapies to slow tumor growth and metastasis.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to tests that identify tissues at higher risk of cancer and to new drugs or prevention strategies that stop stiffness-driven tumor growth and spread.
How similar studies have gone: Prior laboratory and animal studies support the idea that a stiff extracellular matrix promotes tumor aggression, but translating these findings into patient biomarkers and therapies remains early-stage.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Weaver, Valerie Marie — University of California, San Francisco
- Study coordinator: Weaver, Valerie Marie
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Tissue tension and cancer: how stiff tissues drive cancer growth and spread
This NIH grant explores how stiff tissue environments and mechanical forces inside the body may promote cancer growth, aggression, and spread, with the goal of finding biomarkers and new drug targets that could help patients.
-
How tissue mechanics influences cancer growth and spread
This study is looking at how the stiffness of tissue can influence cancer growth and behavior, using special lab techniques to mimic tumors, with the hope of finding new ways to prevent and treat aggressive cancers.
-
Lymph node metastasis and immune tolerance in head and neck cancer
A study in people with head and neck cancer looks at how cancer spread to lymph nodes may shape the immune system and help tumors grow.
-
Targeting how RMS cells fail to mature to slow or stop pediatric muscle cancer spread
A project to understand why a pediatric muscle cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma spreads, and to test ideas that could slow or stop it by helping cancer cells mature properly.
-
Centers studying how cancer spreads through the body
A multi-institutional project at Rockefeller University is exploring how nerves, blood vessels, lymphatics, immune cells, and metabolites influence the spread of cancer to help identify new ways to stop metastasis.
-
Angiopoietin-2 and Tie2 signals shaping liver metastasis in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors
A study explores how Angiopoietin-2 and the Tie2 receptor influence the spread of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors to the liver and how this affects responses to immunotherapy.
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.