Implantable microdevice that tests cancer drugs inside T‑cell lymphoma tumors
Official title: Evaluation of an implantable microdevice for rapid cancer drug screening directly in T cell lymphoma patients
Funded at Brigham and Women's Hospital · NIH-11046140 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A tiny implant will be placed into a T‑cell lymphoma tumor to locally deliver many cancer drugs and see which ones kill tumor cells without giving full systemic doses.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R37 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Brigham and Women's Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2020 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $1,155,118 |
| NIH project number | 4R37CA252312-06 |
| Project ID | NIH-11046140 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with advanced cutaneous or peripheral T‑cell lymphoma who have accessible skin or superficial tumors and can undergo a small biopsy procedure would be ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without accessible tumors, those who cannot undergo biopsy for medical reasons, or those needing immediate full systemic therapy may not benefit from this approach.
What this research studies
You would have a small microdevice inserted into an accessible tumor that releases up to 20 different drugs into separate tiny regions of the tumor. The device stays in place for about 72 hours and is removed with a standard skin biopsy so doctors can examine the nearby tissue. Lab tests, including immunohistochemistry, are used to see which drugs caused cancer cell death while the tumor was in its normal environment. The approach aims to find the most promising medicines for your tumor while avoiding full‑dose side effects.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: This could help identify which drugs are most likely to work for an individual’s T‑cell lymphoma without exposing them to the side effects of systemic treatment.
How similar studies have gone: Related implantable microdevice approaches have shown promise in predicting drug responses in other solid tumors, but applying this method specifically to T‑cell lymphomas is new.
Where this research is happening
-
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Larocca, Cecilia — Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Study coordinator: Larocca, Cecilia
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
CD2-targeted CAR-T therapy for T-cell lymphoma in a multi-center program
A patient-focused overview of a research grant that aims to improve CAR-T cell therapy for T-cell lymphoma by exploring CD2 as a new target and enhancing allogeneic CAR-T safety features.
-
IL-15 and skin-homing CTCL: a targeted approach to curb skin lesions
This grant studies how the inflammatory signal IL-15 drives CTCL T cells to settle in the skin and how blocking this pathway might help patients with this skin-limited leukemia.
-
CD5 CAR-T therapy for T-cell lymphoma shows promise in a multi-center trial
A phase 2 study tests a CD5-targeted CAR-T cell therapy in people with relapsed or refractory T-cell lymphoma to see if it can improve outcomes.
-
Staphylococcus aureus and CTCL: How skin bacteria may drive a blood cancer
A doctor-scientist team is studying how certain strains of Staphylococcus aureus on the skin might influence the development and progression of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) in patients.
-
How a rare intestinal T‑cell lymphoma begins
This project will test whether losing the SETD2 gene and turning on certain cancer genes causes a rare intestinal T‑cell lymphoma and makes it more sensitive to chemotherapy for people with MEITL.
-
CD5 CAR‑T treatment for relapsed or hard‑to‑treat T‑cell lymphoma
This project is trying CD5‑targeted CAR‑T cell therapy, including faster off‑the‑shelf products, to help people with relapsed or refractory T‑cell lymphoma get better responses.
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.