Why the cells around neuroblastoma tumors make treatments stop working
Tumor microenvironment-dependent therapy resistance
Finding ways to block how support cells around neuroblastoma tumors help the cancer survive treatment, to help children with neuroblastoma.
Quick facts
| Grant type | P01 program project |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Children's Hosp of Philadelphia NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11310014 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers study how immune cells and fibroblasts that surround neuroblastoma tumors team up to protect cancer cells and make treatments fail. They use patient tumor samples and laboratory models to follow signaling molecules (like TGFβ, IL-6, NFkB, and STAT3) that drive tumor changes, scar-like tissue, and suppression of T and NK immune cells. The team will test strategies to reverse those changes and combine them with approaches such as B7-H3–targeted immunotherapy to restore immune killing. If you donate tumor tissue or join related clinical work, your samples and clinical information could directly guide these combination strategies.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Children with neuroblastoma, especially those with tumors that have recurred after therapy or show immune-suppressive features, are the most relevant candidates for this work.
Not a fit: People with cancer types unrelated to neuroblastoma or healthy volunteers are not the focus and are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could lead to therapies that prevent or reverse treatment resistance in neuroblastoma, lowering the chance of relapse in affected children.
How similar studies have performed: Prior laboratory and early clinical work suggests that targeting the tumor microenvironment and B7-H3 can improve responses, but combining approaches to block TAM/CAF-driven resistance remains a relatively new strategy.
Where this research is happening
Philadelphia, United States
- Children's Hosp of Philadelphia — Philadelphia, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Asgharzadeh, Shahab — Children's Hosp of Philadelphia
- Study coordinator: Asgharzadeh, Shahab
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.