# Stromal targeting to improve the efficacy of systemically administered drugs for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas

> **NIH NIH R01** · PURDUE UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $599,474

## Abstract

Project Summary
Only about 20% of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients are expected to survive one year from
diagnosis, with the overall 5-year survival rate reported at a devastatingly low 8%, which is the lowest 5-year
survival rate of all major cancers. A hallmark of PDAC is the dense extracellular stroma called the desmoplasia,
which can occupy up to 90% of the tumor volume. The desmoplasia acts as a physical barrier preventing drugs
from reaching the tumor cells. Additionally, the desmoplasia acts as a barrier that prevents immune cells from
infiltrating the tumor, limiting the efficacy of immunotherapies. Systemically administered stromal targeting
therapies have provided a promising route for reducing desmoplasia and allow both cells and drugs to enter the
tumor more readily. However, these agents have a wide range of off-target effects, which limits the dose that the
patient can receive. The overall goal of this proposal is to advance a local controlled release platform for
intratumoral delivery of hyaluronidase, allowing for locally elevated concentrations of the enzyme without
systemic involvement. Aim 1 will focus on the use of a multi-scale modeling approach to define the parameter
space of implant design needed to achieve a uniform distribution of hyaluronidase within excised human tumors.
Aim 2 is focused on the use of medical imaging to characterize the effects of stromal targeting agents on tumor
blood flow and drug accumulation. Aim 3 will characterize the effects that stromal targeting therapies have as
immunomodulatory agents for improved immune surveillance and evaluate treatment efficacy. The proposed
studies will establish a novel approach for targeting tumor desmoplasia, improving mass transport into the
tumors, and enhancing immune cell infiltration into the tumors.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10981743
- **Project number:** 1R01CA283394-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** PURDUE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Luis Solorio
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $599,474
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-01 → 2029-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10981743

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10981743, Stromal targeting to improve the efficacy of systemically administered drugs for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (1R01CA283394-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10981743. Licensed CC0.

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