How tumor cell stress and nearby support cells help melanoma spread
Official title: The integrated stress response and the microenvironment in melanoma progression
Funded at University of Pennsylvania · NIH-11473573 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether blocking a tumor cell stress response and changing how nearby support cells behave might keep melanoma cells from surviving, spreading, and resisting treatment.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Pennsylvania NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project start | January 1, 2022 |
| Project end | December 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $115,768 |
| NIH project number | 3R01CA268597-05S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11473573 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates for future clinical work would be people with advanced or metastatic melanoma, especially tumors showing signs of an active Integrated Stress Response.
✕Less likely to help
People with non-melanoma cancers or with early-stage melanoma already cured by surgery are unlikely to directly benefit from this preclinical research.
What this research studies
From a patient perspective, researchers are studying how melanoma cells use a stress-response pathway called the Integrated Stress Response (via the ATF4 protein) and signals from nearby cells (fibroblasts, blood-vessel cells, and fat cells) to survive and metastasize. They will use mouse models with ATF4 turned off in different cell types and laboratory cell-culture experiments to see how these interactions affect tumor growth and therapy resistance. The team will also look at human melanoma samples to confirm whether the same pathways are active in patients. Experimental drugs or genetic tools that block the stress response will be tested in the lab to find targets that could become future therapies.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to new ways to make melanoma less likely to spread and more responsive to current treatments.
How similar studies have gone: Preclinical studies that disrupt the Integrated Stress Response have reduced tumor growth and spread in animal models, but this approach has not yet been proven in patients.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Koumenis, Constantinos — University of Pennsylvania
- Study coordinator: Koumenis, Constantinos
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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.