# Identification of genomic drivers of brain metastases in lung adenocarcinoma

> **NIH NIH R01** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2020 · $695,450

## Abstract

Project Summary
Fifty percent of patients with lung adenocarcinoma will develop brain metastases.
Patients frequently develop brain metastasis even while their extracranial disease
remains under control. Unfortunately, treatment options are limited, and most current
clinical trials in the US exclude patients with brain metastases. Our limited understanding
of the molecular drivers of brain metastases has hampered the development of novel
therapeutics for this common complication of cancer.
Our group recently completed whole-exome sequencing of 104 brain metastases,
primary tumors and normal tissue across many histologies. In this initial dataset, which
included only 29 brain metastases from lung adenocarcinoma, we detected clinically
actionable alterations that were unique to the brain metastases. We have now
assembled a large cohort of lung adenocarcinoma brain metastases. Our proposed
genomic analysis will focus on identifying and characterizing the molecular alterations in
brain metastases from lung adenocarcinoma. We will analyze brain metastases and
primary lung tumors and compare to lung cancers that do not metastasize. We will
characterize these alterations using in vitro and in vivo assays of metastasis, including
patient derived xenograft models. Identification of these mutations will aid in the design
of more effective treatments for brain metastases.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9924261
- **Project number:** 5R01CA227156-03
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Priscilla Kaliopi Brastianos
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $695,450
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-05-01 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9924261

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9924261, Identification of genomic drivers of brain metastases in lung adenocarcinoma (5R01CA227156-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9924261. Licensed CC0.

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