Vanderbilt program to improve colorectal cancer care
Official title: Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center SPORE in Gastrointestinal Cancer
Funded at Vanderbilt University Medical Center · NIH-11196622 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Vanderbilt researchers are developing new tests and treatments to help people with colorectal cancer live longer and healthier lives.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Vanderbilt University Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Nashville, United States) |
| Project start | July 9, 2019 |
| Project end | July 31, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $2,398,107 |
| NIH project number | 2P50CA236733-06A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11196622 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults with colorectal cancer who can provide medical information or tissue samples or who are willing to consider joining clinical trials, especially patients treated at or able to travel to Vanderbilt.
✕Less likely to help
People without colorectal cancer, those in poor health who cannot join research activities, or patients who do not meet specific trial criteria may not directly benefit from this program.
What this research studies
This program brings together lab scientists, doctors, and patient advocates to speed discoveries for colorectal cancer into real care. It supports three focused research projects and four shared cores for things like bioinformatics, biostatistics, drug discovery, and tissue-based studies. The team will use patient tumor samples, ex vivo tumor models, and clinical collaborations to identify targets and test potential therapies. Patient advocates help shape the work and clinical trial opportunities may be offered to eligible patients.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to better diagnostic tests, more effective targeted treatments, and new clinical trial options for people with colorectal cancer.
How similar studies have gone: Previous SPORE and translational cancer programs have produced useful tests and therapies, but some specific methods proposed here are new and remain unproven.
Where this research is happening
-
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Coffey, Robert J. — Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Coffey, Robert J.
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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.