# Irradiated head and neck cancer soft tissue reconstruction by fat transfer.

> **NIH NIH R01** · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $371,620

## Abstract

Project Summary / Abstract
 Radiation therapy is a mainstay in the treatment of head and neck cancer, but as with all other effective
cancer therapies that have been developed to date, it is frequently associated with side effects which can
negatively affect the functional outcome. Commonly reported complications of radiation-induced soft tissue injury
include skin retraction, contour deformities, restricted movement, and nonhealing wounds. With an increasing
number of cancer survivors in the United States, preventing or reducing these detrimental sequelae has thus
become a priority. But despite improved knowledge about the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible
for post-irradiation soft tissue atrophy and fibrosis, few effective treatment options currently exist. In recent years,
fat grafting has become widely employed to address the soft tissue deficit following cancer resection and
radiotherapy, though effectiveness of fat transfer to address post-oncologic tissue deficit may be limited by the
fibroinflammatory changes and hypovascularity of the irradiated tissue bed. While, enrichment of fat with
additional adipose-derived stromal cells can reduce outcome variability and enhance fat graft retention for
restoration of soft tissue deficit, a large gap in understanding how this occurs still exists. Identifying how
supplemental cells enhance fat graft retention through functional subpopulation analysis may facilitate
development of improved treatment therapies for head and neck cancer reconstruction. Autologous fat transfer
has also become recognized to possess a regenerative effect, as it has been shown to decrease pain and
stiffness in scars and improve vascular networks and dermal architecture in radiation-damaged skin. How fat
transfer alters the soft tissue changes induced by radiation remains unknown, but with our recent identification
of site-specific fibroblast subpopulations predominantly responsible for extracellular matrix deposition in
response to injury, the effect of fat transfer on the distribution and characteristics of these cells, and how this
occurs, can be determined. Findings from these studies would open new avenues for investigation into specific
cell-targeted strategies to reduce or prevent onset of late radiation-induced side effects. Collectively, the
experiments proposed will comprehensively determine conserved mechanisms for development of radiation
fibrosis and how fat transfer can both effectively restore atrophic radiated soft tissue and improve functional
sequelae of radiation therapy.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10403603
- **Project number:** 5R01DE027346-05
- **Recipient organization:** STANFORD UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** MICHAEL T LONGAKER
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $371,620
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-05 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10403603

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10403603, Irradiated head and neck cancer soft tissue reconstruction by fat transfer. (5R01DE027346-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10403603. Licensed CC0.

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