Timing chemotherapy to help breast cancer that has spread to the brain
Official title: Circadian Rhythms in Blood Brain Barrier Permeability and Increased Efficacy of Chemotherapy for Brain Metastases
Funded at West Virginia University · NIH-11296911 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will see if giving common breast cancer chemotherapy at certain times of day helps the medicines get into brain tumors better for people with breast cancer that has spread to the brain.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | West Virginia University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Morgantown, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2024 |
| Project end | March 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $249,000 |
| NIH project number | 5R00CA273424-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11296911 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with breast cancer that has spread to the brain and who are receiving or planning to receive systemic chemotherapy would be the most relevant candidates for applying these findings.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without brain metastases or those treated only with non‑chemotherapy approaches (like some targeted therapies or local radiation) are less likely to benefit directly from this work.
What this research studies
This work looks at whether the body's daily (circadian) rhythms change how well chemotherapy crosses the blood–brain barrier into brain metastases. Researchers will give commonly used drugs (doxorubicin and paclitaxel) labeled so their distribution can be imaged, and compare drug levels at different times of day. The team will also study drug-efflux transporters (like ABCG2) that may drive the timing effects. If timing matters, the results could point to simple schedule changes to improve treatment reach into brain tumors.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, timing chemotherapy by the body's clock could increase drug delivery to brain metastases and improve treatment effect while possibly reducing side effects.
How similar studies have gone: Prior animal and some clinical chrono‑chemotherapy work shows timing can change drug levels and side effects, but applying timing specifically to chemotherapy delivery into brain metastases is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
West Virginia University
Morgantown, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Walker, William Harry — West Virginia University
- Study coordinator: Walker, William Harry
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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How timing chemotherapy can improve treatment for brain metastases in breast cancer
This study is looking at how the time of day affects the ability of chemotherapy drugs to reach the brain in patients with breast cancer that has spread to the brain, with the goal of making treatments work better and cause fewer side effects.
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A 3D ultrasound scanner to see early chemotherapy response in breast cancer
A new 3D ultrasound imaging method will be tested to see if it can quickly show whether breast cancer is responding to chemotherapy.
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Understanding and interrupting brain metastasis in cancer patients
A national research effort at Stanford aims to understand why cancer spreads to the brain and to develop ways to interrupt it, with the goal of improving survival and quality of life for people with cancer.
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Non-invasive, microscopic biomarkers to detect CIPN in chemotherapy patients
This grant aims to develop a non-invasive imaging method to measure nerve changes in patients undergoing chemotherapy to better understand and monitor chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN).
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.