New Renal SPORE in Boston

An acronym for “Specialized Program of Research Excellence,” SPORE grants are presented to groups of investigators from various disciplines that are dedicated to working collaboratively on a particular cancer type. “SPORE grants help to fund and facilitate translational research,” explains the grant’s principal investigator Michael Atkins, MD, director of biologic therapy and cutaneous oncology at BIDMC and leader of the DF/HCC Renal Cancer Program. “The goal is to bring laboratory discoveries into clinical practice within the relatively short life of the grant.” Vikas Sukhatme, MD, PhD, BIDMC division of nephrology, and William Kaelin, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), are co-principal investigators.

The grant focuses on:

• early detection
• minimally invasive treatment
• the growth of new blood vessels (angiogenesis)
• affecting the cell signaling system (signal transduction inhibition)
• enhancing the immune system
• “biomarkers” or chemicals in the blood or urine that might tell us whether the kidney cancer tumor is becoming more or less active, like the PSA for prostate cancer
• ways of predicting a patient’s potential response to a particular drug or treatment
• ways of choosing the right treatment for the patient, so as not to lose valuable time trying a drug that doesn’t work for this patient.

This grant encompasses a broad effort directed at translating biomedical research into more effective treatments, and advancing the understanding and treatment of kidney cancer.

“Integrating this critical mass of investigators and research projects and disease-directed core activities through the SPORE grant will likely enhance the therapeutic options for our patients with kidney cancer and facilitate more sophisticated and productive research studies,” says Atkins. “Our goal is not only to conduct great science but to bring new treatments to renal cancer patients in a timely manner.”

The DF/HCC coordinates the cancer research efforts of seven Harvard-affiliated institutions: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital Boston, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, the Harvard School of Public Health and Massachusetts General Hospital.

For information on the Renal Cancer SPORE contact : +1 (617) 667-1930, option 1.

Information on the array of clinical trials now available for patients with renal cancer can be found on the DF/HCC Renal SPORE website at www.dfhcc.harvard.edu/renalcancer.

For additional information on the SPORE program offered by NCI, you may wish to visit the NCI website: http://spores.nci.nih.gov/.

As printed in the VHL Family Forum 12:2, August/September 2004. For permission to reprint, please contact VHL Family Alliance, editor@vhl.org. Further information is available from the VHL Family Alliance, info@vhl.org.