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Renewal of Hope:
Breast SPORE Boosts Treatment Breakthroughs
What exactly is a Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE)? For the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, it’s an $11.5-million, five-year grant from the National Cancer Institute and the renewal of a program to support groundbreaking breast cancer research. But it’s also a beacon of hope.
“What this means for the women of Alabama and the region is that our breast health program is stronger than ever,” says Cancer Center Director Edward Partridge, M.D. “It also means that women who come to UAB with breast cancer, or risk factors for the disease, are potentially eligible for leading-edge treatments.”
He adds, “There’s no question that this SPORE grant is a fantastic honor and a major recognition of our award-winning women’s cancer care.” In fact, the Cancer Center’s breast cancer SPORE is one of only 11 awarded nationally. The SPORE program started in 1992 as a way to promote interdisciplinary research and to move promising laboratory findings quickly and safely into the clinical setting.
Since receiving its first round of breast cancer SPORE funding in 1999, UAB’s research program has grown into one of the nation’s most productive and highest-ranked efforts to combat the disease. The Cancer Center also has earned SPORE grants for brain and pancreatic cancers.
The renewed SPORE will focus primarily on experimental compounds and cellular targets that have shown promise in preventing, slowing or effectively treating breast cancer. It will fund four primary projects (see below)—three of which involve targeted therapies and anticancer compounds developed at UAB.
“The great fundamental strength of this SPORE is seizing on translational research—taking a finding from the lab, and then moving it into clinical testing to see if it helps prevent, treat or conquer breast cancer,” says Kirby Bland, M.D., SPORE principal investigator and Cancer Center deputy director.
Co-principal investigator and Cancer Center Director Emeritus Albert LoBuglio, M.D. agrees—and looks forward to breakthroughs the SPORE could make possible. “In a time when federal funds for cancer research are limited, a research project such as this must demonstrate potential for use in patients,” he says. “Each of our projects has already shown great potential for reducing cancer burden.”
In addition to the four main initiatives, the SPORE grant includes a career-development program to recruit and train the next generation of breast cancer researchers. Another component enables the Cancer Center to earmark some of the funding to develop innovative cancer research in its earliest phases.
The SPORE Four:
Major Research Projects Funded by the Grant
• Anticancer Antibody: Testing will continue for an experimental anticancer agent called TRA-8 in patients whose breast cancer does not respond to available therapies. A monoclonal antibody developed at UAB, TRA-8 targets specific sites on cell surfaces known as “death receptors,” triggering cancer-cell death while sparing healthy cells. Principal investigators are Tong Zhou, M.D., Dr. LoBuglio and Donald Buchsbaum, Ph.D.
• Retinoids for Chemoprevention: A phase I clinical trial in humans will examine the experimental compound UAB30 to see if it can prevent breast cancer recurrence. Developed and patented by UAB scientists, UAB30 is a retinoid, a synthetic vitamin A-like compound with proven anticancer properties in animals. Other studies will look at retinoids to learn if they can prevent hormone-resistant breast tumors in animals or prevent and treat other types of cancers. Principal investigators are Donald Muccio, Ph.D., Clinton Grubbs, Ph.D., and Helen Krontiras, M.D.
• KLF4 Cancer Gene Biomarkers: Research is under way to determine if targeting KLF4—a UAB-discovered gene—with drugs can help treat certain aggressive forms of breast cancer. Also, researchers are looking at whether testing for KLF4 genes in breast tissue is a worthwhile predictor for a woman’s risk of getting cancer. Principal investigators are J. Michael Ruppert, M.D., Ph.D., and Dr. Bland.
• Gamma/Delta T-Cell Cancer Therapy: Testing is in progress for an anticancer agent that mirrors the immune response of human gamma/delta T-cells when they detect a bodily invader. These specific cells are rare, representing only 5 percent of all T-cells in the body, but they are considered one of the most powerful defenses against cancer. Though the gamma/delta cells are extremely difficult to grow in the laboratory, UAB has discovered a way to grow and purify large numbers of them; planned tests will gauge their anticancer potential in breast tumors. Principal investigators are Richard Lopez, M.D., and Kurt Zinn, D.V.M., Ph.D.
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