Understanding how prostate cancer spreads to bone and why it likes bone
Official title: Project 2: Investigating cell intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of prostate cancer bone metastasis
Funded at Columbia University Health Sciences · NIH-11312666 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A major NIH grant is funding research to uncover why prostate cancer cells spread to bone and how they grow there, using a mouse model that mirrors human bone metastasis.
Quick facts
| Grant type | P01 program project |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Columbia University Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | May 1, 2022 |
| Project end | April 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $487,347 |
| NIH project number | 5P01CA265768-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11312666 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are patients with prostate cancer at risk for or with bone metastases, or those providing samples for related studies (e.g., for human xenograft work or genomic analyses).
✕Less likely to help
Patients without bone-metastatic disease or not involved in related human studies may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
The project studies both the cancer cells and their bone environment to map why bone becomes a preferred destination for prostate cancer. Researchers use the NPKYPF mouse model and human cancer xenografts to explore how MYC and RAS signals drive bone metastasis, especially when androgens are scarce. They are identifying key players like ATAD2 and CITED2 that help the cancer metastasize to bone, and they are examining how the tumor’s immune surroundings influence this process. The work combines in vivo experiments, single-cell profiling, and genome-wide CRISPR screens to build a picture of biology behind bone-specific spread.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal targets to prevent or treat bone metastases in prostate cancer, potentially improving survival and quality of life for patients.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies linking MYC/RAS signaling to bone metastasis have shown the approach can identify drivers and potential targets, supporting this work.
Where this research is happening
-
Columbia University Health Sciences
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Abate-Shen, Cory — Columbia University Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Abate-Shen, Cory
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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PMN-MDSCs in bone metastasis of prostate cancer
A study in people with advanced prostate cancer bone metastases is exploring how immune-suppressing cells in the bone environment may limit current therapies and how targeting them could help.
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Personalized Metastasis-Directed Therapy for Prostate Cancer with Imaging and Biopsy Boost
A large North American trial will test whether targeted radiation to metastases helps men with a specific type of prostate cancer and uses biomarker tests and imaging to tailor treatment.
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Understanding how prostate cancer spreads to bone and stays dormant
Researchers are studying how prostate cancer moves to bone, why it becomes deadly, and how some cancer cells lie dormant before potentially causing trouble.
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Understanding how tumor neighbors help prostate cancer spread and resist therapy
Researchers are studying how the tumor environment around prostate cancer cells promotes spread and resistance to common therapies, with a focus on a protein called ASPN.
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Lipoylation and bone metastasis in prostate cancer: paving the way for new treatments
A study in men with advanced prostate cancer will explore how a chemical process called lipoylation influences cancer spreading to bone and whether this could lead to new therapies.
-
RIPK2/MKK7/c-Myc Signals as a Target to Stop Prostate Cancer from Spreading
This grant tests a new way to stop prostate cancer from spreading by blocking a signaling pathway involving RIPK2, MKK7, and c-Myc.
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.