Using advanced mass spectrometry and tracers to map how tumors use nutrients
Revealing cancer metabolism via mass spectrometry and isotope tracers
['FUNDING_OTHER'] · PRINCETON UNIVERSITY · NIH-11174333
This project develops ultra-sensitive mass spectrometry and labeled tracers to map how cancers consume and process nutrients, with the goal of helping people with cancer.
Quick facts
| Phase | ['FUNDING_OTHER'] |
|---|---|
| Study type | Nih_funding |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | PRINCETON UNIVERSITY (nih funded) |
| Locations | 1 site (Princeton, UNITED STATES) |
| Trial ID | NIH-11174333 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this research studies
From a patient's perspective, this work is about improving lab tests that can read metabolic activity from very small tumor biopsy samples and create maps of metabolism across a tumor. The team will refine liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and imaging mass spectrometry methods, and use stable isotope tracers to follow how tumors use nutrients in living systems. Much of the method work is done in collaboration with animal tracer experiments and with efforts to adapt the techniques to human biopsy specimens. Over time these improved tests could be used on patient samples to reveal metabolic weaknesses in tumors.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Patients with solid tumors who can provide biopsy specimens or who are able to participate in metabolic tracer or tissue-sampling studies at the research sites would be the most relevant candidates.
Not a fit: Patients without accessible tumor tissue (for example many blood cancers) or those seeking immediate therapeutic benefit are unlikely to gain direct clinical benefit from this methods-focused research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, these methods could reveal new metabolic biomarkers and targets that help clinicians diagnose tumors more precisely and choose better treatments.
How similar studies have performed: Related mass-spectrometry and isotope-tracer studies have shown strong promise in laboratory and animal models, but adapting these approaches to tiny human biopsies and spatially mapping in vivo tumor fluxes is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Princeton, UNITED STATES
- PRINCETON UNIVERSITY — Princeton, UNITED STATES (ACTIVE)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: LU, WENYUN — PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
- Study coordinator: LU, WENYUN
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.
Conditions: Cancer Genes, Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Cancer-Promoting Gene, Cancers