Radiosensitization SPORE

While SPORE grants are typically awarded to projects focused on a specific disease, the radiosensitization SPORE centers around a cancer treatment approach to look at how specific drugs make radiation more effective in pancreas, brain and breast cancers that are locally advanced, meaning neither surgically removeable nor metastatic.

The grant includes projects from across the cancer center, engaging collaboration among over 30 Rogel members and across a multi-dimensional approach to research. The projects are:

• Pancreas cancer and immunotherapy: Although immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer care, it has not been effective in pancreatic cancer. This project will use the drug olaparib combined with radiation to make pancreas cancer susceptible to immune checkpoint blockade
• Brain cancer and metabolism: Glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain tumor, is rarely cured with standard treatment (radiation plus chemotherapy). This project will use the medication mycophenolate mofetil (CellceptTM), that decreases a key metabolite, GTP, which causes radiation resistance;
• Breast cancer and repair of DNA damage: Patients with breast cancer and multiple positive lymph nodes are at high risk for local recurrence even after standard treatment with chemotherapy and surgery followed by radiation therapy. This project proposes to use CDK4/6 inhibitors, which prevent the breast cancer cells from repairing radiation-induced DNA damage.