Sanoj Punnen, MD, Leads NCI Grant for Prostate Cancer Detection
Sanoj Punnen, MD, Co-Chair of the Genitourinary Site Disease Group at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center University of Miami and Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Research at the Desai Sethi Urology Institute, leads a study that received a 5-year National Cancer Institute (NCI) grant.
"There have been challenges and limitations in the past with detecting prostate cancer via urine and other noninvasive methods," Punnen said. "But this proposal combines innovative technology...with well-annotated samples from an ongoing clinical trial of men undergoing biopsy for prostate cancer, placing us in an ideal position for developing a new platform of highly specific markers for prostate cancer detection. The NCI agreed."
Punnen will work with co-principal investigator, Alan Pollack, MD, PhD, Chair and Professor of Radiation Oncology, and Sandra M. Gaston, PhD, Assistant Professor and Director of the Molecular Biomarkers Analytic Laboratory in Radiation Oncology, both at Sylvester. The team will study small extracellular vesicles called exosomes as a promising new prostate cancer biomarker. Cancer cells release exosomes into body fluids, making it possible to extract them from blood and urine. These exosomes carry valuable molecular information from their parent tumors, including RNA and DNA, which the investigators hope to use for estimating the risk of prostate cancer.
Jashodeep Datta, MD, Awarded U.S. Department of Defense Funding
The U.S. Department of Defense recently awarded Jashodeep Datta, MD, a surgical oncologist and cancer researcher at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center (part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine) a highly competitive grant for an innovative study on pancreatic cancer.
"As a surgical oncologist and cancer immunology researcher, my ultimate goal is to target these critical elements of what makes pancreatic cancer so challenging to treat and bring these therapies to the patient's bedside," Datta said.
The study supports a new arm of his research program and aims to advance the understanding of the signaling circuitry between myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and pro-inflammatory cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in the tumor microenvironment.
"Pancreatic cancers are highly resistant to standard treatments due to these diverse and disparate factors in the tumor microenvironment," Datta said. "This new study will focus on catalyzing the development of a bold nanoengineered immunotherapy to disrupt signaling connections between MDSCs and fibroblasts that help drive tumor chemoresistance."
Datta's proposed research will examine the precise mechanisms by which these immunosuppressive MDSCs, which can make up to 20-30 percent of a typical tumor, interact with CAFs in the dense stroma that surrounds pancreatic cancer cells. Importantly, Datta's lab and others have shown that both MDSCs and pro-inflammatory skewness of CAFs limit the effectiveness of standard therapies in pancreatic cancer. Datta is collaborating with co-investigator Shanta Dhar, PhD, Assistant Director for Technology and Innovation at Sylvester and Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Miller School.
"We have been working together to design a nanoparticle that can penetrate the tumor and deliver a payload of medication right to these MDSCs," Dhar said. "It's an exciting project because it looks at the problem of treatment resistance in pancreatic cancer from a completely different perspective. Rather than trying to penetrate the dense stroma surrounding the cells, we can target the key cells that generate pro-tumorigenic signaling cascades in the microenvironment."
Dhar added that the nanoparticles consist of biodegradable polymers that can be reproduced at scale if this therapeutic approach proves to be successful. "Hopefully, this study will be a great example of translational science, taking findings from the laboratory into development to help patients and families facing the challenge of pancreatic cancer," Dhar concluded.
National Cancer Institute Names Inaugural Cancer Moonshot Scholars
The Cancer Moonshot Scholars program from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) recognizes a cohort of early-career investigators from underrepresented groups who have been identified as emerging leaders in cancer research and innovation. The following scholars were awarded this honor.
Todd Aguilera, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology and member of the Experimental Therapeutics Program in the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center, was awarded for his work on the research project "Early Response to Radiotherapy and Immunotherapy in Rectal Cancer." Aguilera, a radiation oncologist with expertise in molecular engineering, molecular imaging, and tumor immunology, will receive a grant from the NCI over 5 years to fund research seeking new treatments for rectal cancer.
"I'm honored that the Cancer Moonshot program recognized our team's patient-centered approach to the investigation of the molecular and cellular architecture of rectal cancer to develop new treatments," said Aguilera. "There is a critical need to pioneer new treatment combinations so patients can be definitively treated with radiation and systemic therapy and avoid invasive surgeries. We developed an integrated approach to assess early biopsy tissue after short-course radiation therapy, evaluating molecular, cellular, and spatial dynamics that could improve our ability to identify promising combination therapies."
Nduka Amankulor, MD, Associate Professor of Neurosurgery and Director of the Penn Brain Tumor Center at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, was recognized for his research on brain cancer.
"Coming up with novel therapies for brain tumors is both a personal and professional endeavor for me. As a neurosurgeon and scientist, I am committed to brain tumor research. And because my own father died of brain cancer, I feel the need to move the needle more acutely," Amankulor noted. "It means the world to me to have our research supported directly by President Biden, who has also been personally affected by brain cancer, as he lost his son Beau to brain cancer 8 years ago."
Laurie McLouth, PhD, Assistant Professor at the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center, shared her thoughts on this accolade. "It is an honor to be recognized as a Cancer Moonshot Scholar. The program demonstrates the transformative potential of diverse research perspectives in combating cancer across the cancer care continuum. I am joined by a tremendous team. Each person brings their own unique perspective and strengths and is equally committed to ensuring we train the next generation of cancer care researchers."
Leeya Pinder, MD, MPH, FACOG, Associate Professor, Director, and member of the Center for Global Cancer Control at the University of Cincinnati, was honored for her research project, "Repurposed Antiretroviral Therapies to Eliminate Cervical Cancer (POLESA Trial)." The overall goal of Pinder's project is to find new, non-invasive, easily scalable solutions that address the profound gap in secondary cervical cancer prevention, particularly among women living with HIV. The study, which will enroll 180 women who present for cervical cancer screening in a Cervical Cancer Prevention Program clinic in Zambia, will also assess the safety and acceptability of a vaginal capsule containing the protease inhibitors lopinavir and ritonavir given alone or in combination with thermal ablation to treat screened women found with precancerous abnormalities that are eligible for ablative therapy.
Mario Shields, PhD, Research Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology and a member of the Lurie Cancer Center, was honored for his primary research focus aimed at understanding the mechanisms of pancreatic cancer development and progression. The NCI's award will support his research to define a role for the mTOR pathway in the development and progression of pancreatic cancer in the context of Ga13 loss.
Hien Dang, PhD, Assistant Professor and Vice Chair for Research at Thomas Jefferson University, was honored for her work in understanding deregulated Myc signaling in hepatocellular carcinoma to develop new therapies. Her research project is titled, "Deciphering the role of NELFE in modulating MYC signaling in HCC."
Marvin Langston, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health at Stanford University, was honored for his project titled, "Tailored Prostate Cancer Screening: Addressing USPSTF Priority Research Gaps in a Racially-Diverse Study Population." His research targets diverse risk-based approaches to prostate cancer screening and is essential for developing inclusive screening operations.
Jyothi Menon, PhD, Associate Professor at University of Rhode Island, was honored for her work on the research project titled, "Multifunctional Nanoparticle Platform to Prevent Alcohol-Associated HCC Development." This project focuses on slowing the progression of chronic alcoholic liver disease to hepatocellular carcinoma.
Simpa Salami, MD, MPH, fellowship-trained urologic oncologist and Assistant Professor of Urology at the University of Michigan, was recognized for the research project titled, "Defining the Biological Arc of Grade Group 1 Prostate Cancer."
Matthew A. Triplette, MD, PhD, Medical Director of the Lung Cancer Early Detection and Prevention Clinic and Associate Professor at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer, was recognized for his work in evaluating the barriers of lung cancer screening adherence in decentralized programs in order to adapt and measure the impact of interventions on adherence.
Jelani C. Zarif, PhD, MS, Assistant Professor of Oncology at Johns Hopkins University, was honored for his research project titled, "Therapeutic Targeting of CD206+ TAMs to Enhance Adaptive and Innate Anti-Tumor Immune Responses in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer."
Yeong Choi, PhD, MBA, Named Senior VP of Industry Partnerships
Yeong "Christopher" Choi, PhD, MBA, was named Senior Vice President of Industry Partnerships and Technical Director of the center's current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) Facility by Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. Prior to this, Choi helped lead the first iteration of cell-therapy production at Roswell Park with a focus on dendritic cell vaccines and engineered T-cell receptors as Director of the Therapeutic Cell Production Facility. In his new roles, he will work to expand the facility to manufacture and test new and emerging cellular therapies considered the future of cancer treatment.
"Dr. Choi brings priceless academic and industry experience to tackle the goals Roswell Park set out to achieve with the GMP Facility and beyond," noted Renier Brentjens, MD, PhD, Roswell Park Deputy Director. "If we are able to develop and test cellular therapies in-house at Roswell Park, we can deliver these breakthrough treatments to patients that much faster."
Oncology Hematology Care Receives 2023 ACCC Innovator Award
The Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) announced that Oncology Hematology Care (OHC) in Cincinnati, Ohio, received the 2023 ACCC Innovator Award. OHC won the award for a quality improvement project that increased biomarker testing rates for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients from 68 percent to 92.7 percent.
Biomarker testing is used to identify therapies and clinical trials that target a patient's cancer mutation. Despite the benefits of biomarker testing, national biomarker testing rates typically fall below 50 percent. To increase testing rates and improve patient care, OHC conducted a 1-year quality improvement project that implemented and standardized biomarker testing for patients with metastatic NSCLC, which involved custom data reports and monitoring dashboards across multiple clinic sites.
"This standardization, which demonstrates a very high impact on overall patient quality and survival rates, was quite easy to operationalize. Receiving full support from the OHC leadership team, board of directors, and physicians was the first critical step," said Molly Mendenhall, RN, BSN, Director of Quality and Compliance at OHC. "Through a collaborative approach, we were able to easily streamline and roll out these operational and clinical improvements with little to no cost internally. The success from that buy-in-and the resulting clinical and operational alignment-helped improve overall patient care and patient outcomes."
Patrick J. Ward, MD, PhD, OHC Medical Oncologist and Director of Clinical Research, said, "Because non-small cell lung cancer is such a common diagnosis, we are talking about many patients diagnosed each year, so even a small percentage of biomarker testing on such a big number is meaningful. Biomarker-driven therapies are going to be how we care for all cancer patients going forward."