Understanding spread and treatment resistance in breast cancer through tumor cells in the blood
Modeling Metastasis and Acquired Drug Resistance Using Circulating Tumor Cells
Researchers use tumor cells captured from the blood of people with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer to learn how tumors stop responding to hormone therapies.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts General Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11296913 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you have advanced hormone receptor–positive (HR+) breast cancer, doctors can capture circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from a blood sample and grow them in the lab to watch how they change. The team compares CTCs that still make the estrogen receptor with those that have lost it to find what turns the receptor off. They use detailed maps of DNA and chromatin plus CRISPR tools to find genes and switches controlling this change and to test whether receptor function can be restored. The work aims to link changes seen in blood samples to how patients develop resistance to hormone treatments and spread cancer.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People with advanced or metastatic hormone receptor–positive (ER+) breast cancer, especially those with disease that has become resistant to hormone therapy and who can provide blood samples, would be ideal candidates.
Not a fit: Patients without hormone receptor–positive breast cancer or those unable to give blood samples are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could point to tests or treatments that restore hormone sensitivity or prevent metastasis for people with HR+ breast cancer.
How similar studies have performed: Other groups have shown circulating tumor cells can be grown and genetically profiled, but using CTCs to map epigenetic loss of ER and target it with CRISPR approaches is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
Boston, United States
- Massachusetts General Hospital — Boston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Haber, Daniel a. — Massachusetts General Hospital
- Study coordinator: Haber, Daniel a.
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 below.