Skin wounding and sun-caused skin cancer
Official title: Wounding Therapy and Photocarcinogenesis
Funded at Wright State University · NIH-11173795 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This research looks at how skin injuries and aging change the way sun exposure leads to common skin cancers in older adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Wright State University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Dayton, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2014 |
| Project end | August 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $877,297 |
| NIH project number | 4RF1AG048946-10 |
| Project ID | NIH-11173795 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be older adults with sun-damaged skin, actinic (solar) keratoses, or a history of non-melanoma skin cancer who can provide skin samples or participate in skin-focused studies.
✕Less likely to help
People without sun-damaged skin, those with unrelated medical conditions, or those seeking purely cosmetic treatments are unlikely to benefit directly from this research.
What this research studies
This work focuses on why older skin is more likely to develop non-melanoma skin cancers after UVB (sun) exposure. Scientists are studying how aging dermal fibroblasts make less IGF-1, and how that affects the survival and behavior of surface skin cells after sun damage. They use human skin cells and tissue samples and explore whether controlled wounding or wound therapies can change the skin environment to lower cancer risk. The aim is to identify treatments or preventive steps that could reduce sun-related precancers in older people.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could lead to treatments or wound-based therapies that lower the risk of sun-related non-melanoma skin cancers in older adults.
How similar studies have gone: Laboratory studies and some early clinical skin-rejuvenation approaches support a role for IGF-1 and controlled wounding in reducing precancerous sun damage, but large definitive clinical trials are limited.
Where this research is happening
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Wright State University
Dayton, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Travers, Jeffrey B. — Wright State University
- Study coordinator: Travers, Jeffrey B.
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.