New treatment approaches for cancer that spreads to the brain
Official title: Developing new therapeutic strategies for brain metastasis
Funded at New York University School of Medicine · NIH-11258531 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This work looks at whether Alzheimer’s drugs that target amyloid-beta can help people whose melanoma, lung, or breast cancer has spread to the brain.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | New York University School of Medicine NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | February 1, 2023 |
| Project end | January 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $560,847 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA277425-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11258531 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people with melanoma, lung, or breast cancer who have or are at high risk for brain metastases and who can provide tumor tissue or consider future clinical trials of Aβ-targeting therapies.
✕Less likely to help
Patients whose tumors do not produce amyloid-beta, those with unrelated cancer types, or those unwilling/unable to provide tissue samples or join trials may not directly benefit from this work.
What this research studies
Researchers grow short-term cultures from a patient’s brain metastasis and from that patient’s non-brain metastasis to compare them directly. They measure protein activity and amyloid-beta (Aβ) secretion, and use cell and mouse models to see if blocking Aβ stops tumors from growing in the brain. The team will test drugs developed for Alzheimer’s that lower Aβ, alone or combined with approved cancer therapies. The approach uses patient tumor samples, proteomics, single-cell analysis, and animal experiments to guide possible clinical repurposing.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could slow or prevent brain metastases and improve outcomes for people with melanoma, lung, or breast cancer that spreads to the brain.
How similar studies have gone: Alzheimer’s drugs targeting amyloid-beta have had limited success for dementia, but the investigators’ preclinical cell and mouse models show reducing Aβ can markedly reduce brain metastasis, making this a promising but mostly preclinical repurposing effort.
Where this research is happening
-
New York University School of Medicine
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hernando, Eva — New York University School of Medicine
- Study coordinator: Hernando, Eva
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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.