Kidney transplant decisions for people who've had cancer
Official title: A clinical decision support tool to understand the survival benefit of kidney transplantation in candidates with a history of cancer
Funded at Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute · NIH-11182525 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will build a tool to help people with kidney failure who had cancer understand whether a transplant might help them live longer than staying on dialysis.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Minneapolis, United States) |
| Project start | September 5, 2024 |
| Project end | July 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $338,316 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DK140270-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11182525 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with end-stage kidney disease who have a prior history of cancer, especially those in remission and being considered for transplant listing, are the intended candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People with active, untreated cancer or those who are not transplant candidates for other medical reasons are unlikely to benefit directly from this work.
What this research studies
If you have end-stage kidney disease and a history of cancer, this project aims to give you clearer information about the risks and benefits of getting a kidney transplant versus remaining on dialysis. The team will combine patient records and transplant data to estimate chances of survival and cancer returning after transplant. They will use those estimates to make a decision-support tool clinicians can use when discussing transplant listing and timing with you. The goal is to reduce uncertainty so you and your care team can make more personalized choices.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help patients with prior cancer get more personalized transplant recommendations and potentially improve survival by identifying who benefits most from transplantation.
How similar studies have gone: Existing guidance is mostly based on expert opinion and small studies, so this more data-driven decision-support approach is relatively novel though it builds on prior registry research.
Where this research is happening
-
Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute
Minneapolis, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hart, Allyson — Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute
- Study coordinator: Hart, Allyson
Related research
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This project works to reduce harmful donor-specific antibodies in people who are sensitized and need a kidney transplant so their new organ lasts longer.
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Reducing geographic disparities in kidney transplant access with AI and operations research
Aiming to use AI and operations research to make kidney transplant access more fair across different regions in the U.S.
-
Centralized patient coaching to boost live donor kidney transplantation
A US-wide program trains patients, caregivers, and their networks with coaching to help them pursue living donor kidney transplantation.
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.