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Principal Investigator: Steven P. Balk
Organization: DANA-FARBER CANCER INST
Fiscal Year: 2024
Award: $2,393,890
Funding agency: National Cancer Institute
PROJECT SUMMARY – OVERALL
The Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) Prostate SPORE seeks to improve the understanding
and treatment of prostate cancer using a highly translational approach. The application consists of three
Projects, three Cores, a Developmental Research Program and a Career Enhancement Program. The
SPORE infrastructure will facilitate interactions and collaboration within our thriving community of basic,
clinical, and population science researchers dedicated to prostate cancer research. Each project addresses
a fundamental challenge that contributes to prostate cancer morbidity and mortality. Project 1 leverages
tumor specimens from patients with high-risk prostate cancer treated with neoadjuvant therapies to
understand how tumors respond and resist acute potent androgen receptor blockade and to develop novel
strategies to improve cure rates and combat resistance. Project 2 will develop innovative strategies to target
the epigenome in later stages of advanced castration resistant prostate cancer and will develop a first-in-field
clinical trial focused on co-targeting EZH2 and PARP. Project 3 delves deep into biomarkers in localized
prostate cancer, leveraging innovations in computation and biologically-guided deep learning, to deliver on
precision cancer medicine in this disease state. The ability to understand why some localized prostate
cancers are phenotypically aggressive and predict which localized prostate cancers will behave in this
manner addresses a large clinical unmet need. Each of these projects combines elegant preclinical work with
innovative clinical studies led by DF/HCC investigators. Core A, the Administrative Core, will be the center for
scientific, fiscal and administrative oversight. It will lead efforts in planning and communication, and also
house the Patient Advocacy Committee. Core A will ensure that the DF/HCC infrastructure supports the
SPORE clinical and translational research efforts. Core B, the Biostatistics and Computational Biology core,
will provide specialized expertise in biostatistics and the management of genomic and other next generation
sequencing data and data sharing. Core C, the Biospecimen and Pathology Core, will maintain tissue/blood
repositories for the SPORE projects as well as other investigators within the prostate cancer program. It will
provide critical expertise and pathology services including next generation molecular assays and will help
facilitate the use of fresh tumor specimens including rapid autopsies for patient derived model development
to accelerate translational investigation. The Developmental Research and Career Enhancement Programs
will identify and fund innovative projects that address basic, translational, and clinical research questions and
unmet needs in prostate cancer and will support early career and new prostate cancer investigators. These
programs will actively recruit and retain researchers from diverse backgrounds to foster cutting-edge and
impactful prostate cancer translational science. We anticipate that the DF/HCC Prostate SPORE will make
substantial scientific discoveries in the field and translate directly into benefits for men with prostate cancer.
Terms: <Acceleration><Active Follow-up><Acute><Address><Androgen Receptor><Assay><Autopsy><Back><Basic Research><Basic Science><Bioassay><Biological><Biological Assay><Biological Markers><Biometrics><Biometry><Biostatistics><Blood><Blood Reticuloendothelial System><Blood Sample><Blood specimen><Body Tissues><Cancer Biology><Cancer Cause><Cancer Center><Cancer Etiology><Cancers><Caring><Cessation of life><Clinical><Clinical Investigator><Clinical Research><Clinical Sciences><Clinical Study><Clinical Trials><Collaborations><Communication><Communities><Computational Biology><DF/HCC><Dana-Farber Cancer Institute><Data><Death><Dedications><Development><Diagnosis><Disease><Disease Resistance><Disorder><Dorsum><ENX-1><EZH1><EZH2><EZH2 gene><Early Diagnosis><Early treatment><Enhancer of Zeste 2 Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 Subunit><Ensure><Environment><Epigenetic><Epigenetic Change><Epigenetic Mechanism><Epigenetic Process><Fostering><Funding><General Hospitals><Generalized Growth><Genomics><Goals><Growth><Hospitals><Individual><Induction Therapy><Infrastructure><Institution><Investigators><Israel><KMT6><KMT6A><Laboratories><Laboratory Research><Lead><Machine Learning><Malignant Neoplasms><Malignant Tumor><Malignant Tumor of the Prostate><Malignant neoplasm of prostate><Malignant prostatic tumor><Massachusetts><Medical center><Mentors><Molecular><Morbidity><Morbidity - disease rate><NEOADJ><NGS Method><NGS system><Neoadjuvant><Neoadjuvant Therapy><Neoadjuvant Treatment><Newly Diagnosed><Pathology><Pathway interactions><Patient advocacy><Patients><Pb element><Phenotype><Population Sciences><Pre-Clinical Model><Preclinical Models><Principal Investigator><Prognostic Marker><Prostate><Prostate CA><Prostate CA therapy><Prostate Cancer><Prostate Cancer therapy><Prostate Gland><Prostate malignancy><Prostatic Cancer><Prostatic Gland><Recruitment Activity><Research><Research Personnel><Research Resources><Research Specimen><Researchers><Resistance><Resistance development><Resistant development><Resources><Services><Specimen><Therapeutic><Tissue Growth><Tissues><Translating><Translational Research><Translational Science><Translations><United States><Work><Writing><active followup><active recruitment><androgen independent prostate cancer><androgen indifferent prostate cancer><androgen insensitive prostate cancer><androgen resistance in prostate cancer><androgen resistant prostate cancer><anti-cancer research><bench bed side><bench bedside><bench to bed side><bench to bedside><bench to clinic><bench to clinical practice><bio-markers><biologic><biologic marker><biomarker><biomarker development><biomarker discovery><biomarker driven><cancer genomics><cancer initiation><cancer progression><cancer research><career><castration resistant CaP><castration resistant PCa><castration resistant prostate cancer><clinical translation><clinically translatable><cohort><combat><computer biology><customized therapy><customized treatment><data sharing><deep learning><deep learning method><deep learning strategy><depository><developing resistance><developmental><drug standard><early detection><early therapy><epigenetically><epigenome><follow up><follow-up><followed up><followup><heavy metal Pb><heavy metal lead><high risk><hormone refractory prostate cancer><improved><individualized cancer care><individualized medicine><individualized oncology><individualized patient treatment><individualized therapeutic strategy><individualized therapy><individualized treatment><induction therapies><innovate><innovation><innovative><insight><machine based learning><malignancy><meeting><meetings><men><model development><model developments><mortality><necropsy><neoplasm progression><neoplasm/cancer><neoplastic progression><new approaches><next gen sequencing><next generation><next generation sequencing><nextgen sequencing><novel><novel approaches><novel strategies><novel strategy><oncogenomics><ontogeny><pathway><patient population><patient specific therapies><patient specific treatment><personalized oncology><postmortem><pre-clinical><pre-clinical study><precision cancer care><precision cancer medicine><precision medicine><precision oncology><precision-based medicine><preclinical><preclinical study><prognostic biomarker><programs><prostate cancer resistant to androgen><prostate cancer risk><prostate cancer treatment><repository><resistance mechanism><resistance to disease><resistance to therapy><resistant><resistant disease><resistant mechanism><resistant to disease><resistant to therapy><success><tailored medical treatment><tailored therapy><tailored treatment><therapeutic resistance><therapy resistant><translation><translation research><translation strategy><translational approach><translational cancer research><translational investigation><translational investigator><translational researcher><translational scientist><translational strategy><treatment resistance><tumor><tumor progression><unique treatment>