Understanding how lung cancer and its surroundings change during treatment
Official title: The Delta Ecology of NSCLC Treatment
Funded at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Ctr & Res Inst · NIH-11416421 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A research effort to map how non-small cell lung cancer evolves and how its lung environment changes during therapy to find ways to overcome treatment resistance.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Ctr & Res Inst NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Tampa, United States) |
| Project start | September 15, 2023 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $1,538,725 |
| NIH project number | 5U54CA274507-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11416421 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients with non-small cell lung cancer undergoing targeted therapy, especially those with specific driver mutations (RAS, EGFR, ALK) being studied.
✕Less likely to help
Patients not receiving the therapies or data used in these models may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
This project studies NSCLC by combining patient data with computer models and lab experiments to track how cancer cells and the lung environment influence each other during treatment. Researchers will use clinical information, simulations, and lab systems to predict and test how the tumor ecology shifts and how these changes relate to therapy success or failure. The work progresses from real patient data to in silico predictions, then to lab calibration and in vivo validation to build actionable insights for improving treatments.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, it could lead to better understanding of when and why treatments stop working and inform strategies to prolong response in NSCLC.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work shows that integrating clinical data with modeling can illuminate resistance mechanisms, but this project adds dynamic ecology and multi-driver contexts.
Where this research is happening
-
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Ctr & Res Inst
Tampa, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Anderson, Alexander Robertson Allan — H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Ctr & Res Inst
- Study coordinator: Anderson, Alexander Robertson Allan
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-
ATM kinase as a target to help NSCLC with brain metastases respond to treatment
A study from Yale University tests whether blocking ATM kinase can delay or overcome treatment resistance in people with advanced non-small cell lung cancer that has spread to the brain and other organs.
-
Understanding how cancer-supportive tissue affects resistance to ALK and KRAS therapies
A research team will study how the tumor’s surrounding tissue changes as cancer cells become resistant to ALK and KRAS-targeted treatments, aiming to find better combination strategies for long-lasting remission.
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.