# Exploring the role of polyploidy in tumor progression

> **NIH NIH F31** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $20,418

## Abstract

Recent genomic analysis of human cancer sequencing data estimates over one third of human
tumors undergo whole-genome duplication events. While applications of sequencing technology
have revealed the prevalence of polyploidy in human cancer, the functional implications of
polyploidy in cancer remain poorly defined. I propose to experimentally assess the effects of
polyploidy on tumor progression using a murine model of breast cancer tumorigenesis. First, I will
determine how polyploidy affects primary tumor growth. I will then determine if polyploidy
influences the genetic alterations selected for in primary tumors. Finally, I will assess the
consequences of polyploidy with respect to disease recurrence. I hypothesize that polyploidy
promotes tumor growth in the context of primary tumor formation and recurrence, while uniquely
shaping the genetic alterations present in tumors. Understanding how whole-genome duplication
events affect tumor progression will provide important insight into the functional implications of
polyploidy in cancer, and will yield a better understanding of events that shape the cancer
genome.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10104461
- **Project number:** 5F31CA239421-03
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Rachel Leanne Newcomb
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $20,418
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-04-01 → 2021-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10104461

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10104461, Exploring the role of polyploidy in tumor progression (5F31CA239421-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10104461. Licensed CC0.

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