Why some ER-positive breast cancers grow without estrogen
Official title: Mechanism of estrogen independent proliferation in ER+ breast cancer cells
Funded at Beckman Research Institute/city of Hope · NIH-11166394 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Learning how some ER-positive breast cancers start growing again without estrogen, to help people with ER+ breast cancer get better treatment.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Beckman Research Institute/city of Hope NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Duarte, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2021 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $577,234 |
| NIH project number | 5U01CA264620-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11166394 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with early-stage ER-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer who are receiving or can provide tumor biopsies before and after endocrine and/or CDK4/6 inhibitor treatment.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with HER2-positive or triple-negative breast cancer, or those not receiving endocrine or CDK4/6 therapy, are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this work.
What this research studies
Researchers will compare tumor samples taken before and after hormone therapy and CDK4/6 inhibitor treatment to see which cancer cells survive and why. They will use single-cell gene-reading technology and lab-grown matched cancer cells to track changes in estrogen signaling, JNK pathway activity, and cell-cycle control. The team will build a mechanistic model linking estrogen, JNK signaling, and CDK4/6 regulation to pinpoint how tumors bypass hormone dependence. Findings will guide ideas for therapies to prevent or reverse resistance in early-stage ER+ breast cancer.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could reveal targets or strategies to prevent or overcome resistance to hormone plus CDK4/6 drugs in early-stage ER-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer.
How similar studies have gone: Combining CDK4/6 inhibitors with endocrine therapy has improved outcomes in metastatic ER+ breast cancer, but applying single-cell approaches to understand resistance in earlier-stage disease is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Beckman Research Institute/city of Hope
Duarte, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bild, Andrea Hope — Beckman Research Institute/city of Hope
- Study coordinator: Bild, Andrea Hope
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
ER+ Breast Cancer Bone Metastasis in a Real Body Environment
This grant aims to understand why estrogen receptor alpha–positive breast cancer often spreads to bone and how the bone environment and immune system affect treatment resistance.
-
Targeting RAGE to fight obesity-related ER+ breast cancer and its drug resistance
A scientist team will explore how obesity-related inflammation involving RAGE and estrone interacts with ER+ breast cancer to drive growth and spread, aiming to find strategies to overcome therapy resistance.
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Understanding estrogen signals in bone to stop ER+ breast cancer spread
This NIH grant aims to uncover how estrogen signals inside bone help ER-positive breast cancer cells grow and spread, with the goal of finding better ways to prevent bone metastasis.
-
Progesterone Receptor Signaling and Dormancy in ER+ Breast Cancer
Researchers are studying how hormone signals in ER+/PR+ breast cancer influence cancer cell dormancy and later recurrence.
-
Heavy Metals and Breast Cancer Treatment Resistance
This project explores how exposure to heavy metals might make ER+ breast cancer harder to treat and how we might overcome this challenge.
-
Turning ER-positive breast cancer into a viral target for immune attack
This project aims to wake up viral-like bits inside ER-positive breast cancer cells so the immune system can spot and attack them.
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.