Immature cancer cells in childhood rhabdomyosarcoma
Official title: The Role of Immature Tumor Subpopulations In Pediatric Rhabdomyosarcoma
Funded at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital · NIH-11284094 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are using advanced gene-level and computer analyses to find immature tumor cell groups that may drive relapse in children with rhabdomyosarcoma.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | St. Jude Children's Research Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Memphis, United States) |
| Project start | March 4, 2022 |
| Project end | February 28, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $416,325 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA262790-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11284094 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Children diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma whose tumor tissue and clinical data can be shared with the research team would be the ideal contributors.
✕Less likely to help
People without rhabdomyosarcoma, or patients whose tumors cannot be sampled or shared, are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this project.
What this research studies
This project will analyze single-cell RNA data to identify immature tumor cell subpopulations in pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma. Researchers will use patient-derived tumor models in mice to see how these immature cells change with treatment. They will apply deep-learning methods to patient tumor data to link the immature cell programs to risk of relapse. The goal is to find molecular markers and networks that could signal which children are more likely to have resistant disease.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could help identify children at higher risk of relapse and point to new targets to prevent recurrence.
How similar studies have gone: Related single-cell studies in other cancers have suggested immature cell states can drive relapse, but applying integrated computational and deep-learning approaches specifically to pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Memphis, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Chen, Xiang — St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
- Study coordinator: Chen, Xiang
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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.