# The role of breast cancer organ specific metastasis on the therapeutic impact of anti-cancer drugs

> **NIH NIH SC1** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS EL PASO · 2021 · $362,823

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Every year breast cancer causes the death of around 40,000 women in the United
States, highlighting the need to improve the options to treat this disease. This proposal
focuses on late stage breast cancer, where the cancer cells have spread
(metastasized), and for which the median survival is approximately 3 years from the
time of diagnosis. We will test whether the location of breast cancer spread – which can
include the liver, the lung, and brain – alters the sensitivity of the breast cancer cells to
chemotherapy.
In Specific Aim 1, we will establish models of breast cancer metastases to different sites
and then test the relative response to chemotherapeutic drugs. In Specific Aim 2, we
will explore the extent to which host factors, including host immune system cells, can
alter the pattern of dissemination of breast cancer metastases and their response to
chemotherapy. Our hypothesis is that breast cancer metastasis to different organs
results in organ-dependent sensitivity of the tumor cells to anti-cancer agents. Overall
this project will explore the extent to which the location of a breast cancer metastasis
can determine its sensitivity to available drugs. The testing of our hypothesis could lead
to more effective therapeutic strategies – those that are tailored to the location of the
metastases. Optimizing therapy in such a way should improve the efficacy of available
therapies leading to increased overall survival time of patients with breast cancer.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10146431
- **Project number:** 5SC1GM136630-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS EL PASO
- **Principal Investigator:** Giulio Francia
- **Activity code:** SC1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $362,823
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-05-01 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10146431

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10146431, The role of breast cancer organ specific metastasis on the therapeutic impact of anti-cancer drugs (5SC1GM136630-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10146431. Licensed CC0.

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