Small cell lung cancer interactions with liver blood-vessel cells
Official title: Dissecting reciprocal interactions between cancer cells and endothelial cells in SCLC liver metastasis.
Funded at Washington University · NIH-11257728 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This work looks at whether contact between small cell lung cancer cells and liver blood-vessel cells changes both cell types and points to new treatment targets for people whose cancer has spread to the liver.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Washington University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Saint Louis, United States) |
| Project start | January 1, 2024 |
| Project end | December 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $249,000 |
| NIH project number | 5R00CA256039-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11257728 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with a diagnosis of small cell lung cancer—especially those with liver metastases or who can provide tumor or blood samples—would be most relevant to this work.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without small cell lung cancer or without liver involvement are unlikely to gain direct benefit from this preclinical research.
What this research studies
From a patient perspective, researchers will grow cancer cells and blood-vessel (endothelial) cells together in advanced 3D lab models and use a fluorescent tagging tool called G-baToN to record when and how the cells physically touch. They will combine this with genetically edited mouse models and high-throughput tumor barcode sequencing to track how cancer cells spread to and grow in the liver. The team aims to identify the molecular signals exchanged between the two cell types that help tumors survive and expand in the liver. Those signals could become targets for drugs to prevent or slow liver metastases in small cell lung cancer.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the project could reveal new molecular targets to stop or slow small cell lung cancer spread to the liver, enabling development of therapies that reduce metastatic growth.
How similar studies have gone: Work in other cancers has shown that endothelial cells influence metastasis and that anti-angiogenic approaches can help, but applying the G-baToN contact-recording method to SCLC liver spread is a novel approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Washington University
Saint Louis, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Tang, Rui — Washington University
- Study coordinator: Tang, Rui
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Understanding how cancer cells interact with blood vessel cells in liver metastasis of small cell lung cancer.
This study is looking at how small cell lung cancer cells interact with the cells that line blood vessels, especially when the cancer spreads to the liver, to find out how these interactions might affect cancer growth and make treatments less effective, with the hope of discovering new ways to fight the disease.
-
Lymph node metastasis and immune tolerance in head and neck cancer
A study in people with head and neck cancer looks at how cancer spread to lymph nodes may shape the immune system and help tumors grow.
-
Targeting how RMS cells fail to mature to slow or stop pediatric muscle cancer spread
A project to understand why a pediatric muscle cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma spreads, and to test ideas that could slow or stop it by helping cancer cells mature properly.
-
Centers studying how cancer spreads through the body
A multi-institutional project at Rockefeller University is exploring how nerves, blood vessels, lymphatics, immune cells, and metabolites influence the spread of cancer to help identify new ways to stop metastasis.
-
Angiopoietin-2 and Tie2 signals shaping liver metastasis in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors
A study explores how Angiopoietin-2 and the Tie2 receptor influence the spread of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors to the liver and how this affects responses to immunotherapy.
-
Nanoparticles that boost MRI to find tiny brain metastases
This uses tiny magnetic nanoparticles and new MRI image processing to help doctors find very small brain metastases earlier in people with cancer.
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.