August 21, 2002
SPORE grant targets prostate cancer
Philip Kantoff, MD
Genome-age technology meets clinical care in a $15 million, five-year grant for prostate cancer research awarded this month to the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC).
The grant, from the National Cancer Institute, creates the third Specialized Program in Cancer Research—or SPORE—at the DF/HCC (the other two being in breast and skin cancers). The new SPORE, like its predecessors, teams laboratory scientists with clinical researchers in projects designed to transform discoveries about human biology into new cancer therapies, diagnostic techniques, and prevention strategies.
"SPORE grants are one of the National Cancer Institute's main tools for supporting bench-to-bedside research," says the SPORE's principal investigator, Philip Kantoff, MD, director of the Institute's Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology and division of Solid Tumor Oncology. "The fact that the DF/HCC has received three such grants in the last few years says a great deal about the concentration of cancer expertise within the Harvard medical community and its potential to yield new treatments for patients."
The new grant covers five research projects, many of them involving the emerging field of genomic technology. By scanning cells to obtain a "fingerprint" of their genetic activity, investigators hope to bring new discoveries to patient care. The projects are:
Test for aggressiveness: Using data and tissue samples from prostate cancer patients taking part in the Physicians' Health Study—which tracks the health of thousands of doctors across the country—researchers hope to learn if there is a link between the level of certain proteins in prostate cancer cells and the cells' ability to proliferate and spread throughout the body. Such findings could lead to tests for gauging the aggressiveness of prostate tumors. Co-principal investigators are Edward Giovannucci, MD, ScD, of the Channing Laboratory at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), and Michael Weinstein, MD, also of BWH.
Therapy test
Researchers will study whether a cell structure known as PPARgamma can serve as a useful target for prostate cancer therapies. A clinical trial is currently under way at Dana-Farber and its affiliates to determine whether the drug rosiglitazone can reduce or prevent prostate cancer by acting on PPAR-gamma. The new project will help researchers better assess the drug's effectiveness. Co-principal investigators are Bruce Spiegelman, PhD, and Elisabetta Mueller, PhD, of Dana-Farber and Matthew Smith, MD, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital.
SNP chips
Using what's known as "SNP chip" technology, researchers will survey the patterns of activity in tens of thousands of genes in prostate cancer cells. Their aim is to determine whether those patterns can be used to predict whether individual prostate tumors are likely to become resistant to radiation therapy. Co-principal investigators are William Sellers, MD, of DFCI and Anthony D'Amico, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber and BWH.
Gene snapshots
In another use of gene chip technology, scientists will take "snapshots" of gene activity in prostate cancer cells from patients who have had their prostate glands surgically removed. By following the patients' health following surgery, researchers hope to determine if certain patterns of gene activity are a sign that prostate cancer is likely to recur. Co-principal investigators are Todd Golub, MD, of DFCI and Jerome Richie, MD, of Brigham and Women's.
Special Receptor
Most prostate cancers are fueled by the male hormone androgen, but even in tumors that grow independently of it, cells still carry a "receptor" for the hormone to bind to. Researchers theorize that the receptor may still play a role in the cells' growth and will test their hypothesis in tumor samples. Their findings may help identify patients with androgen-independent prostate cancer who can still benefit from treatments aimed at the androgen receptor. Co-principal investigators are Steven Balk, MD, PhD, and Glenn Bubley, MD, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
As with all SPOREs, the new grant includes funds for "core" support services that will be shared by all investigators, career-development programs for young researchers, and periodic information-sharing sessions for SPORE members.
"In preparing the application for this grant, we received a great deal of support from prostate cancer researchers throughout the Harvard system," Philip Kantoff notes. "It's a prime example of the kind of research we can accomplish by working together with a single focus."
