Tests to identify how cancers keep their chromosome ends (telomeres) intact
Official title: Robust assays to define telomere maintenance mechanisms as cancer biomarkers.
Funded at Texas Tech University Health Scis Center · NIH-11193848 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project is creating lab tests to tell whether a patient's cancer uses telomerase, the ALT pathway, or neither so doctors can better understand the tumor.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Texas Tech University Health Scis Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Lubbock, United States) |
| Project start | September 16, 2021 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $365,287 |
| NIH project number | 5U01CA263988-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11193848 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people with solid tumors (including childhood neuroblastoma) who can provide tumor tissue or consent to biomarker testing.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without available tumor samples or whose cancers do not use telomere maintenance mechanisms may not receive direct benefit from this work.
What this research studies
If I or my child had cancer, this work would develop lab tests that measure TERT mRNA and detect C-circles in tumor samples to find which telomere maintenance mechanism the cancer uses. The team uses PCR-based assays and RNA measurements on tumor tissue or specimens to sort cancers into telomerase-positive, ALT-positive, or TMM-negative groups. They have shown this classification gives stronger prognostic information in neuroblastoma and are testing whether the same approach helps classify other cancer types. Finding a tumor's telomere mechanism could reveal specific vulnerabilities that lead to more targeted treatment options.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, these tests could help predict outcomes and guide more targeted treatments for patients whose tumors rely on ALT or telomerase.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work using TERT mRNA and C-circle assays has classified neuroblastoma and shown prognostic value, so parts of this approach have prior supporting results while broader application is still being tested.
Where this research is happening
-
Texas Tech University Health Scis Center
Lubbock, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Reynolds, Charles Patrick — Texas Tech University Health Scis Center
- Study coordinator: Reynolds, Charles Patrick
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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.