# Engineered platelets for the targeted destruction of circulating tumor cells - Administrative Supplement

> **NIH NIH DP2** · UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH · 2022 · $68,136

## Abstract

Project summary
The goal of this proposal is to increase our understanding of the therapeutic benefits of using platelets for
preventing the spread of cancer, or metastasis. Metastasis is the main cause of cancer-associated mortality
that occurs when some cancer cells, also called circulating tumor cells (CTCs), detach from primary tumor
sites and enter the bloodstream to invade other tissues and organs at different locations. The presence of
CTCs in patients is associated with a poor prognosis because once CTCs enter the bloodstream it is difficult to
prevent them from reaching secondary organs and spreading cancer. Therefore, targeting CTCs may
represent a promising target for anticancer therapies.
Once CTCs enter into the bloodstream, they face many survival challenges including immunological attack,
shear forces, and apoptosis. To enhance their survival rate, CTCs strongly attract platelets to form a protective
cloak that helps the cancer cells survive the forces in the bloodstream and to escape immune surveillance.
Although the mechanisms by which platelets interact with circulating tumor cells are poorly understood, studies
have shown that they are involved in cancer progress, especially during metastasis where platelets help to
degrade extracellular matrix (ECM) to support the colonization of cancer cells in distant locations from the
original tumor formation site. We propose to take advantage of platelets' innate association with circulating
tumor cells and their storage, trafficking, and release capacities of small molecules, to engineer them as
delivery vehicles for the development of next generation delivery methods for targeting and destroying CTCs to
prevent or minimize metastasis.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10599722
- **Project number:** 3DP2CA250006-01S1
- **Recipient organization:** UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
- **Principal Investigator:** Tara Lynn Deans
- **Activity code:** DP2 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $68,136
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-09-20 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10599722

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10599722, Engineered platelets for the targeted destruction of circulating tumor cells - Administrative Supplement (3DP2CA250006-01S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10599722. Licensed CC0.

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