Image-guided fibrin-targeted treatment for stomach cancer
Official title: Theranostic for gastric cancer
Funded at Collagen Medical, LLC · NIH-11180167 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A new image-guided treatment aims to send radiation directly to fibrin deposits inside stomach tumors to help people with advanced gastric cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Sbir 2 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Collagen Medical, LLC NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | September 11, 2023 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $1,065,500 |
| NIH project number | 5R44CA275590-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11180167 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with advanced or metastatic gastric (stomach) cancer whose tumors show fibrin on imaging and who are medically eligible for targeted radiotherapy would be the best candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People with early-stage stomach cancer that lacks fibrin deposition, those with severe organ dysfunction that prevents radiation therapy, or tumors that do not bind the fibrin-targeting agent are unlikely to benefit.
What this research studies
This project develops an image-guided approach that finds fibrin—a blood-protein deposit commonly left behind in stomach tumors—and uses it as a treatment target. Small fibrin-specific peptides are linked to imaging agents and to a high-energy beta-emitting therapy so clinicians can first image fibrin with PET and then deliver focused radiation to the same sites. Because fibrin is largely absent from healthy tissues, the treatment is designed to concentrate radiation in the tumor microenvironment and spare normal organs. The team has prior experience using a fibrin PET agent in people and plans to translate those tools into a therapeutic program for advanced gastric cancer.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could concentrate radiation inside tumors while reducing exposure to healthy tissue, potentially improving tumor control and survival for people with advanced stomach cancer.
How similar studies have gone: Other targeted radioligand therapies have benefited patients in different cancers and fibrin-targeted PET has been used in people, but applying fibrin-directed beta radiation to gastric cancer is a newer approach with limited prior testing.
Where this research is happening
-
Collagen Medical, LLC
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Humblet, Valerie — Collagen Medical, LLC
- Study coordinator: Humblet, Valerie
Related research
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Improved fibrin-targeted radiopharmaceutical for gastric cancer
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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.