Understanding how blood tests and scans show treatment response in metastatic breast cancer
Official title: Role of ctDNA change as a response measure in the EA1183 patient population and how ctDNA changes correlate with metabolic response by serial FDG PET/CT
Funded at University of Washington · NIH-11095754 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how changes in blood markers and specialized scans can show if treatment is working for people with metastatic breast cancer that has spread to the bones.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Washington NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Seattle, United States) |
| Project start | July 15, 2021 |
| Project end | June 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $218,933 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA251803-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11095754 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are patients with bone-dominant or bone-only metastatic breast cancer who are participating in the EA1183 FEATURE clinical trial.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without metastatic breast cancer or those whose cancer has not spread to the bones would not directly benefit from this specific research.
What this research studies
For patients with metastatic breast cancer that has spread to the bones, it can be hard to tell if treatments are truly working because bone lesions are difficult to measure. This project aims to find better ways to track treatment success by combining information from blood tests that look for circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) with specialized imaging called FDG PET/CT scans. We hope to see if these methods, either alone or together, can accurately predict how well a patient is responding to their cancer therapy. This work is part of a larger clinical trial, EA1183 FEATURE, which is already using PET/CT scans to assess treatment response.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could lead to more accurate and earlier ways to know if a treatment is working for metastatic breast cancer in the bones, helping doctors make better decisions for patient care.
How similar studies have gone: While the use of ctDNA and FDG PET/CT individually has shown promise in cancer monitoring, this project aims to combine and validate them specifically for metastatic breast cancer in bones within a clinical trial setting.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Washington
Seattle, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Specht, Jennifer Marie — University of Washington
- Study coordinator: Specht, Jennifer Marie
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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.