Challenge Award #1 Project Title:
Targeting the PTGES3-AR axis in Advanced Prostate Cancer
Project Overview:
AR-targeted therapy is the primary treatment for prostate cancer, however treatment resistance is nearly inevitable and patients progress to lethal disease. Dr. Gilbert and team have identified PTGES3 as a critical regulator of AR that drives CRPC. The team will investigate the biology by which PTGES3 drives prostate cancer progression and treatment resistance, and develop new treatments that target PTGES3, which may extend and improve the lives of patients.
Principle Investigators:
University of California, San Francisco
Felix Feng, MD
Kevan Shokat, PhD
Michelle Arkin, PhD
Additional Investigators:
University of California, San Francisco
Jun Jie Hua, PhD
Challenge Award #2 Project Title:
MET-PAAM: Elucidating the molecular mechanisms of tumor progression in metastatic prostate cancer among men of African ancestry
Project Overview:
African American (AA) patients experience significant disparities in prostate cancer diagnosis and outcomes compared with European American (EA) patients. Dr. Huang and team will map the landscape of genomic alterations in AA prostate cancers, which will enable new precision medicine approaches to be developed for AA patients. The team will also create a digital health tool that will increase ethnic and racial diversity in prostate cancer clinical trials, and develop a training program to increase the numbers of underrepresented minorities in the computational prostate cancer disparities research field.
Principle Investigators:
Karmanos Cancer Institute; Wayne State University
Elisabeth Heath, MD
Tuskegee University
Clayton Yates, PhD
Additional Investigators:
University of California, San Francisco
Hala Borno, MD
Felix Feng, MD
San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center; University of California, San Francisco
Matthew Cooperberg, MD, MPH
Nancy Greenland, MD, PhD
Thomas Hope, MD
Challenge Award #3 Project Title:
177Lu-PSMA-617 as a Radioimmunotherapy for Prostate Cancer
Project Overview:
Checkpoint inhibition is a form of immunotherapy treatment that has limited efficacy in patients with advanced prostate cancer. Emerging data indicates that some patients can derive durable benefit from combining radiation therapy with checkpoint inhibition. Dr. Aggarwal will dissect the immunogenic capacity of 177Lu-PSMA-617 in combination with immune checkpoint inhibition for patients with advanced prostate cancer. In doing so, Dr. Aggarwal will significantly accelerate the development and optimization of combinatorial treatment approaches, and enhance potent anti-tumor immunity and durable clinical efficacy for prostate cancer patients.
Principle Investigators:
The Regents of UCSF Medicine
Lawrence Fong, MD
The Regents of UCSF Radiology
Michael Evans, PhD
Thomas Hope, MD
Additional Investigators:
The Regents of UCSF Hematology-Oncology
David Oh MD
Li Zhang, PhD
The Regents of UCSF Pharmaceutical Chemistry
Charles S Craik, PhD