Targeting mitochondria to help immunotherapy work better for pleural mesothelioma
Official title: Targeting the Mitochondria to Overcome Resistance to Immune Checkpoint Inhibition in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
Funded at Baylor College of Medicine · NIH-11289458 · Data updated 2026-11-12
The team will try medicines that change cancer cell mitochondria to help immunotherapy work better for people with malignant pleural mesothelioma.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R37 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Baylor College of Medicine NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Houston, United States) |
| Project start | March 16, 2024 |
| Project end | February 28, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $660,954 |
| NIH project number | 5R37CA289419-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11289458 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults with malignant pleural mesothelioma whose disease is limited to one side of the chest and who are eligible for surgery and immunotherapy.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with widespread (unresectable) mesothelioma or those unable to tolerate immunotherapy or surgery are unlikely to benefit from this approach.
What this research studies
You would be part of work that combines immune checkpoint drugs (like nivolumab and ipilimumab) with approaches that target tumor mitochondria to overcome resistance. The group is expanding on a prior safety trial that gave immunotherapy before surgery and is opening a larger effort comparing immunotherapy alone versus chemotherapy plus immunotherapy before surgical removal of the tumor. Doctors will collect tumor and blood samples to study why some tumors resist treatment and whether mitochondrial-targeting changes that. Participation could involve receiving these treatments, surgery, and follow-up visits with tissue and blood sampling.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could help more people with pleural mesothelioma respond to immunotherapy and potentially extend survival.
How similar studies have gone: Immune checkpoint inhibitors have modestly improved outcomes in mesothelioma, but using mitochondrial-targeting to reverse resistance is relatively new and mostly supported by preclinical data and small safety trials.
Where this research is happening
-
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ripley, Robert Taylor — Baylor College of Medicine
- Study coordinator: Ripley, Robert Taylor
Related research
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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.