Needle‑biopsy lab test to find which drugs work on solid tumors
Official title: MetaboCore: Needle biopsy assay of drug sensitivity for solid tumors.
Funded at University of Washington · NIH-11194977 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A fast lab test uses a small needle biopsy and a metabolic readout to show which cancer drugs change tumor cells for people with solid tumors.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Washington NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Seattle, United States) |
| Project start | September 19, 2024 |
| Project end | August 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $388,418 |
| NIH project number | 5U01CA281433-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11194977 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with accessible solid tumors who can safely undergo a needle biopsy and want tumor‑specific drug sensitivity information are the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People whose cancers cannot be sampled by needle biopsy, those with blood cancers, or tumors that yield no viable tissue are unlikely to benefit from this test.
What this research studies
If you or a loved one has a solid tumor, doctors would take a small needle biopsy during a clinic visit and place the fresh tissue into a special culture so it stays alive. The team exposes the tissue to different drugs for a short time and uses a single‑cell metabolic test to see which drugs cause changes in the cancer cells. They aim to get quantitative drug‑sensitivity results within about a week so the information could fit clinical treatment timelines. The project focuses on standardizing how tissue is handled and processed so the test gives reliable results across sites.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help doctors choose more effective drugs faster and avoid ineffective treatments.
How similar studies have gone: Other personalized approaches like organoids and patient‑derived mice have had limited clinical uptake, and this rapid metabolic needle‑biopsy approach is newer with early promise but not yet widely proven.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Washington
Seattle, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Yeung, Raymond — University of Washington
- Study coordinator: Yeung, Raymond
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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.