Understanding Small Cell Lung Cancer to Discover New Treatments
Official title: Investigating molecular and cellular mechanisms of SCLC development to identify novel therapeutic strategies
Funded at Stanford University · NIH-11159419 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This research aims to understand how small cell lung cancer develops and resists treatment, hoping to find new ways to fight this aggressive disease.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Stanford University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Stanford, United States) |
| Project start | September 9, 2019 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $959,562 |
| NIH project number | 5R35CA231997-07 |
| Project ID | NIH-11159419 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This foundational research is for patients with small cell lung cancer, as it seeks to understand the disease at a basic level to inform future therapies.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without small cell lung cancer would not directly benefit from this specific research, as it is focused solely on this particular cancer type.
What this research studies
Our laboratory is deeply interested in how cancer cells change and adapt, especially in small cell lung cancer (SCLC), which is a very deadly form of lung cancer. We are looking closely at a specific protein called Rb, which plays a role in how cancer cells behave and why they sometimes don't respond to current therapies. By using special tools and models, we hope to uncover new insights into SCLC progression and maintenance that are difficult to find with traditional methods. This deeper understanding is crucial for developing much-needed new treatment options for patients.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to the discovery of entirely new treatment approaches for small cell lung cancer, offering hope where current options are limited.
How similar studies have gone: Our laboratory has made significant contributions to this field, with pioneering work on Rb-mutant small cell lung cancer providing fundamental new insights.
Where this research is happening
-
Stanford University
Stanford, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sage, Julien — Stanford University
- Study coordinator: Sage, Julien
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Role of Twice-Daily Thoracic Radiotherapy in Limited-Stage SCLC in the Immunotherapy Era
This project looks at whether giving twice-daily radiotherapy for limited-stage small cell lung cancer still helps patients today who are also getting immunotherapy.
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SCLC model creation and therapy testing
A cancer research program using mouse models and engineered human and mouse cells to study small cell lung cancer and test potential treatments.
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Impact of genetic changes on SCLC subtypes and treatment response
This project explores how specific genetic changes in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) affect the disease and how it responds to targeted drugs.
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Repair mechanisms for DNA lesions in small cell lung cancer
Researchers are studying how cancer cells with small cell lung cancer respond or become resistant to treatment by looking at the ways DNA damage is repaired.
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Understanding how replication stress affects a hard-to-treat breast cancer gene patients may carry
This grant explores how certain breast cancer gene defects interact with replication stress to influence cancer cell survival and treatment resistance, with potential implications for therapies in patients with BRCA2-related breast cancer.
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Replication Stress Sensing Defects in Small Cell Lung Cancer
A study in people might not be involved directly, but it aims to understand why a common lung cancer responds poorly to therapy over time by examining how cancer cells handle replication stress.
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.