# Glycosphingolipid Alterations in Lung Cancer

> **NIH NIH R21** · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $168,834

## Abstract

Project Summary
 Clinical lung cancer therapy is largely limited by how well and for how long treatments remain effective.
However, the unfortunate reality is that for many patients with lung cancer their tumors will be resistant to begin
with, or quickly acquire resistance, rapidly exhausting the few treatment options available, forcing them into
palliative care. Although we have a better understanding of the molecular features of drug-resistant cancer cells,
until cancer mortality drops dramatically much more research is needed to understand the molecular origins
of resistance, and to develop drugs that can target it. Our goal is to develop therapeutics that are taken
before chemotherapy is begun. These treatments will be designed to decrease the resistance of tumors and to
extend the effective lifetime of chemotherapy. Our proposal will study the role that specific sphingolipids
play in the development of intrinsic drug resistance and transformation. The sphingolipids we are focusing on
play important roles cancer but the mechanisms that lead to their alterations have not been studies. Therefore,
we are exploring specific mechanisms that might lead to changes in their cellular levels, and whether these
changes are active participants in lung epithelial cell transformation and the development of intrinsic drug
resistance. A large part of the data presented in this proposal was generated with CURE program K22 Career
Development Award.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9948603
- **Project number:** 5R21CA232234-02
- **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Santiago Lima
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $168,834
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-01 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9948603

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9948603, Glycosphingolipid Alterations in Lung Cancer (5R21CA232234-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9948603. Licensed CC0.

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