Solid Tumor Fact Sheet

CIRM funds many research projects investigating the similarities between stem cells and the cells at the heart of cancer. Drugs targeting these so-called cancer stem cells could prove to be powerful weapons against the disease.

If you want to learn more about CIRM funding decisions or make a comment directly to our board, join us at a public meeting. You can find agendas for upcoming public meetings on our meetings page.

Learn more about stem cell research:
Stem Cell Basics Primer | Stem Cell Videos | What We Fund

Find clinical trials:
CIRM does not track stem cell clinical trials. If you or a family member is interested in participating in a clinical trial, please see the national trial database to find a trial near you: clinicaltrials.gov

Stem cell research for solid tumors

Solid tumors include cancers of the brain, ovary, breast, colon and other tissues. Many people believe that one quality solid tumors share is a reliance on cancer stem cells. These cancer stem cells are thought to divide to produce the bulk of the cells that make up the tumor.

The hypothesis suggests that unlike most cells of a tumor, the cancer stem cells divide very slowly and are less likely to be destroyed by chemotherapies that kill the fast-growing tumor cells. The thought is that cancers might recur because the chemotherapy kills the bulk of the tumor, but leaves behind the cancer stem cells that can, over time, form a new tumor.

Stem cell scientists are studying cancer stem cells from solid tumors in the lab to find ways of destroying them. If these cancer stem cells share characteristics that allow them to be destroyed by the same drug, then a single new drug could significantly improve cancer treatment for a range of different cancer types.

Disease Team

University of California, Los Angeles

A team led by scientists at UCLA has identified several potential drugs that kill cancer stem cells from the ovary, colon and brain in the lab dish. They will continue studying these drugs to find one that is most likely to be safe and effective at destroying cancer stem cells in people. Once they’ve identified the best candidate drug, the team plans to start clinical trials.

Read a summary of this project

Catriona Jamieson of the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center Describes Cancer Stem Cells

CIRM Grants Targeting Solid Tumors

Researcher name	Institution	Grant Title	Approved funds
Dennis Slamon	University of California, Los Angeles	THERAPEUTIC OPPORTUNITIES TO TARGET TUMOR INITIATING CELLS IN SOLID TUMORS	$19,979,660
John Zaia	Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope	The Innovation-Alpha Clinic for Cellular Therapies (I-ACT) – A Program for the Development and Delivery of Innovative Cell-based Treatments and Cures for Life-threatening Diseases.	$8,000,000
Julien Sage	Stanford University	The retinoblastoma (RB) gene family in cellular reprogramming	$1,363,171
Irving Weissman	Stanford University	Development of Therapeutic Antibodies Targeting Human Acute Myeloid Leukemia Stem Cells	$18,759,276
Elizabeth Lawlor	Children's Hospital of Los Angeles	hESC as tools to investigate the neural crest origin of Ewing's sarcoma	$595,576
Siavash Kurdistani	University of California, Los Angeles	Epigenetics in cancer stem cell initiation and clinical outcome prediction	$3,063,450
Irving Weissman	Stanford University	Clinical Investigation of a Humanized Anti-CD47 Antibody in Targeting Cancer Stem Cells in Hematologic Malignancies and Solid Tumors	$7,672,364
David Cheresh	University of California, San Diego	CD61-driven stemness program in epithelial cancer	$1,161,000
			Total: $60,594,497.00