> Our Work > The Work We Fund

2024 Center for Prostate Disease Research – PCF Young Investigator Award

Defining the Functional and Spatial Immune Repertoire Roles of the Prostate Tumor Microenvironment

Cara Schafer, PhD
Center for Prostate Disease Research

Mentors: Leigh Ellis, PhD; Deborah Citrin, MD

Description:

  • African American (AA) patients are disproportionately affected by prostate cancer, in its aggressiveness, earlier age of onset, lethality, and negative impact on quality of life. Studies have found differences in immune cell diversity in the tumor microenvironment with both ancestry and disease progression, suggesting immune differences may contribute to prostate cancer racial disparities. 
  • Dr. Cara Schafer’s project aims to understand how the immune system differs by ancestry and how this influences prostate cancer aggressiveness. 
  • How the T and B cell repertoire and locations in tumors change over disease progression will be evaluated to determine their clinical relevance as prognostic and predictive markers of prostate cancer. 
  • The tumor antigens recognized by T and B cells in tumors will be identified, and tested for their potential as cancer vaccine stimulants. 
  • If successful, this project will accelerate our understanding of how the immune landscape and race contributes to prostate cancer aggressiveness and recurrence, and identify tumor antigens that have potential as immunotherapy or tumor vaccine targets.

What this means to patients: Better understanding of immune cells in the tumor microenvironment is needed to enable the development of new treatments, biomarkers, and strategies to reduce prostate cancer racial disparities. Dr. Schafer’s project will define whether and how changes in the T and B cell repertoire and spatial distribution contribute to prostate cancer progression and racial disparities, identify prognostic immune biomarkers, and identify possible new immunotherapeutic targets for prostate cancer.