# Modeling the role and regulation of reactive stroma in breast ductal carcinoma microinvasions

> **NIH NIH R01** · H. LEE MOFFITT CANCER CTR & RES INST · 2023 · $568,661

## Abstract

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast is a heterogeneous group of neoplastic lesions confined to the
mammary ducts. Reactive stroma emerges during early breast cancer development and co-evolves with breast
cancer progression. While genetic alterations during breast carcinogenesis have been extensively studied,
more in-depth investigation is needed into the non-genetic microenvironmental factors that select for these
genotypes. We hypothesize that emergence of reactive stroma precedes initiation of microinvasion, and that
this process is an effect of a modified tissue metabolic landscape. This hypothesis will be tested using the
interdisciplinary approach by explicitly integrating experimental and computational models that together are
able to handle this problem complexity. We have assembled a multidisciplinary team of investigators to
quantify tumor cell-stroma interactions under different metabolic conditions (aim 1); assess the role of
reactive stroma in DCIS upgrading (aim 2); and evaluate reactive stroma signatures in DCIS histology (aim
3). We will pursue these aims by using a comprehensive approach that combines studies of DCIS histology
samples, three-dimensional (3D) tumor organoid cultures, mathematical modeling of complex tumor
microenvironment, and quantitative algorithms applied to medical imaging. Our goal is to define novel
molecular and physical signatures of reactive stoma with a goal to improve preventive and therapeutic
strategies.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10694975
- **Project number:** 5R01CA272601-02
- **Recipient organization:** H. LEE MOFFITT CANCER CTR & RES INST
- **Principal Investigator:** Mehdi Damaghi
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $568,661
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10694975

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10694975, Modeling the role and regulation of reactive stroma in breast ductal carcinoma microinvasions (5R01CA272601-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10694975. Licensed CC0.

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