The UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center has been awarded $28 million by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). The money will be used to develop a new clinical trial for breast cancer which has spread to other part of the body.

The trial, “Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium Evolutionary Clinical Trial for Novel Biomarker-Driven Therapies,” which researchers have shortened to “EVOLVE,” will adapt treatment plans in near real-time by analyzing changes in a patient’s cancer and matching it to the most promising therapy.

“This has the potential to be practice-changing,” said Bill Schaller, the Lineberger Center’s director of communications. “This trial could pave the way for a new, more dynamic approach to treatment.”

“Despite progress in treating breast cancer during the past 30 years, we still lack curative therapies for metastatic disease,” said Dr. Lisa Carey, the deputy director of clinical sciences at the Lineberger Center and the study’s lead investigator. “EVOLVE takes a different approach to clinical research by using real-time biomarker data to adapt treatment as a tumor changes.”

Up to 700 patients with metastatic breast cancer will be enrolled in the study.

Metastatic breast cancer is currently incurable. Between 15 and 20 percent of early-stage breast cancer cases will become metastatic, and only one in three people with metastatic breast cancer survive beyond five years.

“This trial will let us act earlier, modify treatment when resistance begins – not just when symptoms return,” Carey said, “and ultimately give patients more time, and better quality of life.”

EVOLVE is part of a $142 million ARPA-H program, known as the Advanced Analysis for Precision Cancer Therapy (ADAPT). The Lineberger trial is one of 10 projects which received funding through ADAPT.

 

Featured image via UNC Lineberger Cancer Center

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.

Related Stories
‹
On Air Today: Promoting Wellness During and After Cancer Treatment, with 'Get Real and Heel'
UNC's Get Real and Heel program is hosting a Wellness Exchange August 15 to mark its 20th anniversary and promote cancer recovery.
Top Stories of 2023: Eric Montross' Cancer Fight Galvanizes the Community
To reflect on the year, Chapelboro.com is re-publishing some of the top stories that impacted and defined our community’s experience in 2023. These stories and topics affected Chapel Hill, Carrboro and the rest of our region. UNC men’s basketball alumnus Eric Montross was notable around the Chapel Hill community not just for his stature – […]
UNC Researchers Turn Skin Cells To Cancer-Killing Stem Cells
UNC pharmacy researchers have successfully turned skin cells into cancer-hunting stem cells that destroy brain tumors known as glioblastom. “Patients desperately need a better standard of care,” said Shawn Hingtgen, who led the study. The survival rate beyond two years is 30 percent because even when the brain tumor is removed, it is nearly impossible […]
UNC Readies for Demolition of Jackson Hall; Construction Zone Created Around Site
As UNC students returned to campus this week for the new academic year, those around the Cobb Community saw a change of scenery. The university has begun demolition preparations around Jackson Hall, the former admissions building, and the nearby Cobb recreation courts. UNC Facilities Services alerted the campus community at the end of July that […]
The Morning News: Mark Chilton Retiring, UNC Returning
In today's news: longtime Orange County Register of Deeds Mark Chilton announces he's stepping down, a few months before the end of his term.
'It's Going to Be a Terrific Year': UNC Gears Up for FDOC
The Chapel Hill summer is wrapping up this weekend, as UNC students return to campus ahead of the first day of class on Monday.
UNC Wrestling Coach Rob Koll Agrees to 3-Year Contract Extension
UNC and head wrestling coach Rob Koll have agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension, the school announced Thursday. The extension will keep Koll in Chapel Hill through the end 2028-29 season. Koll is a UNC alumnus, having earned four All-America honors and an individual national championship in 1988. He began his head coaching […]
The UNC Men's Soccer Coach Envisions a 2-Semester Season. Could it Work?
UNC men’s soccer head coach Carlos Somoano recently told 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck about one of his pipe dreams: a plan to move college soccer from a one-semester to a two-semester schedule, spreading out the schedule across the fall and spring. Somoano called the proposal a “passion project,” one which has been on […]
UNC Women's Soccer Beats Fairfield in 2026 Season Opener
Sophomore defender Hope Munson bagged the first two goals of her collegiate career in the first half as UNC defeated Fairfield 4-0 at Dorrance Field in the 2026 season opener Thursday night. Game 𝙒𝙊𝙉 😏#GoHeels x @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/VWOUvguLeH — UNC Women's Soccer (@uncwomenssoccer) August 14, 2026 Munson collected her brace in just over a half […]
Chansky's Notebook: The Five Stages
Chapelboro's Michael Koh breaks down the stunning news of Seth Trimble's commitment to Louisville via the transfer portal.
›