Salivary gland cancer: how nerves may drive growth and how to stop it
Official title: Salivary Neural Development Programs Enable Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma Progression
Funded at Sloan-Kettering Inst Can Research · NIH-11344524 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Aims to understand how nerve signals help adenoid cystic carcinoma grow and test therapies that could interrupt those signals to help patients.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Sloan-Kettering Inst Can Research NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | July 22, 2026 |
| Project end | April 30, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $769,938 |
| NIH project number | 1R01DE035884-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11344524 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients with adenoid cystic carcinoma or those with recurrent/advanced ACC may be eligible for future studies or trials exploring nerve-targeted therapies.
✕Less likely to help
Not all ACC patients will benefit immediately; results may guide future trials rather than provide an existing therapy now.
What this research studies
This project looks at nerve connections in adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC), a rare salivary gland cancer, to see how nerve-activated pathways influence tumor progression. Researchers will map nerve types and patterns in tumor tissue and relate them to patient data, then use lab tests to see how nerve signals affect ACC cells. They will also explore targeted treatments that block these neural signals, with advanced gene-expression analyses guiding the experiments. The goal is to identify new ways to slow or stop ACC growth by interrupting tumor-nerve interactions.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could lead to new treatment strategies that slow ACC progression by targeting nerve-driven cancer signals.
How similar studies have gone: Emerging evidence in other cancers suggests tumor innervation can promote progression, making this a promising but still exploratory approach.
Where this research is happening
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Sloan-Kettering Inst Can Research
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Wong, Richard J — Sloan-Kettering Inst Can Research
- Study coordinator: Wong, Richard J
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Exploring understudied proteins as potential drug targets for adenoid cystic carcinoma
A small NIH grant is funding a patient-focused look at rare salivary gland cancer to find new proteins that could become targeted treatments.
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DNA methylation clues to predict and guide ACC treatment
This project looks at DNA methylation patterns in adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) to find markers that predict how aggressive the cancer will be and how patients might respond to therapy.
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Genetic changes and target genes in adenoid cystic carcinoma
Researchers are analyzing genetic changes in adenoid cystic carcinoma tumors to find gene targets that could lead to better tests and treatments for people with ACC.
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Using tumor and blood DNA methylation to predict outcomes and guide treatment for adenoid cystic carcinoma
This project looks at DNA methylation patterns in tumor tissue and blood to help predict how adenoid cystic carcinoma will behave and to guide treatment choices for people with ACC.
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Using DNA Methylation to Improve Treatment for Salivary Gland Cancer
This study is looking at how changes in DNA can help doctors understand different types of adenoid cystic carcinoma, a kind of salivary gland cancer, by checking tumor samples and blood from patients to find clues that could improve treatment and track how the disease is doing.
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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.