Rio Grande Valley Center to Reduce Cancer Disparities
Official title: Rio Grande Valley Cancer Health Disparity Research Center
Funded at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley · NIH-11313864 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether a protein called MUC13 and behaviors like smoking, drinking, and stress help drive liver cancer in Latino/Hispanic patients so care can be improved.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Texas Rio Grande Valley NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Edinburg, United States) |
| Project start | August 18, 2024 |
| Project end | March 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $328,723 |
| NIH project number | 5U54MD019970-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11313864 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are Latino/Hispanic adults with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who can provide tumor or blood samples and share medical and social history such as smoking or alcohol use.
✕Less likely to help
People without liver cancer, with non-HCC liver conditions, or those unwilling to provide samples or clinical information are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this project.
What this research studies
The team will compare liver tumor samples from Latino/Hispanic and white patients to see how MUC13 levels and location differ between groups. They will link those molecular patterns to histories of smoking, alcohol use, and stress, and may collect patient samples and health information. Lab studies will test how MUC13 affects tumor growth and response to drugs such as sorafenib to point toward better treatment strategies. The work combines patient samples, clinical data, and laboratory experiments aimed at understanding why outcomes differ by ethnicity.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could lead to better ways to predict who will respond to treatments and to develop therapies targeted to mechanisms driving liver cancer in Latino/Hispanic patients.
How similar studies have gone: Prior research has linked MUC13 and related mucin proteins to cancer aggressiveness and drug response, but applying this specifically to HCC disparities in Latino/Hispanic populations is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Edinburg, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Chauhan, Subhash C. — University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
- Study coordinator: Chauhan, Subhash C.
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.