# Stopping PDA progression using inhibitors of CSC dissemination and immunotherapy

> **NIH NIH U01** · FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER RESEARCH CENTER · 2021 · $250,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDA) is often called the silent serial killer, because it rarely causes
symptoms and metastases have already spread from the pancreas to distant organs before the primary tumor
can be detected. Moreover, the existing metastases may give rise to new metastases through dissemination of
cancer stem cells as seen in breast carcinoma. Current standard of care regimens for advanced disease, such
as Abraxane plus gemcitabine or FOLFIRINOX, have modestly improved survival, albeit at the cost of significant
morbidity, and neither is curative. This underlines the need for new and/or additional approaches. Two issues
need to be addressed in a concerted manner: 1) blocking the dissemination of cancer cells from the primary and
metastatic sites, and 2) simultaneously eradicating existing primary tumors and metastases because metastases
support continuous new CTC dissemination with metastasis-seeding potential. The intersection between cell-
autonomous mechanisms, such as the RUNX3 developmental program; and non-cell autonomous processes,
such as tumor microenvironment of metastasis (TMEM) windows, cooperate to drive and sustain the high
metastatic competency of PDA. The Runx3 developmental transcription factor coordinates a secretory program
that stimulates migration and invasion of cancer cells and preconditions the metastatic niche for successful
dissemination of tumor cells. Therefore, our main goal is to focus on evaluating dissemination mechanisms and
therapeutic effects in mice with either low or high Runx3 expression.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10286890
- **Project number:** 3U01CA224193-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER RESEARCH CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Sunil R Hingorani
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $250,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-03-17 → 2021-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10286890

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10286890, Stopping PDA progression using inhibitors of CSC dissemination and immunotherapy (3U01CA224193-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-08 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10286890. Licensed CC0.

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