R01CA238249

Integrated Ligand and Target Discovery by Chemical Proteomics for Glioblastoma Treatment - Project Summary

The epidermal growth factor (EGFR) oncogene is amplified and drives tumor growth in 55% of adult glioblastomas (GBMs). However, EGFR inhibitors have failed to demonstrate clinical benefit in GBM, presenting one of the most fundamental challenges facing the field of neuro-oncology.

As highlighted by the National Cancer Institute's recent think tank on progress in GBM, despite clear signals about the genomic underpinnings of GBM, including the high frequency of EGFR amplification, new drug development programs have stalled because of the high risk of clinical failures. Intra-tumoral genetic heterogeneity and the poor brain-plasma ratios of many drug candidates are thought to play a major role in clinical failure.

Building on the team's recent discoveries demonstrating that EGFR is amplified almost exclusively on extrachromosomal DNA particles (ECDNA), driving intra-tumoral genetic heterogeneity, accelerated tumor evolution, and EGFR inhibitor resistance, and their discovery of actionable metabolic dependencies that arise when EGFR becomes amplified, this proposal will identify proteins on which EGFR-amplified GBMs selectively depend for survival, even in highly heterogeneous tumors.

This proposal integrates a hypothesis-driven approach with unbiased discovery using activity-based protein profiling (ABPP). In clinically relevant patient-derived models of GBM, this proposal takes a chemistry-first approach to discover both actionable dependencies that arise when EGFR is amplified and ligands that engage these proteins, which can be made to be highly brain-penetrant.

By deploying fully functionalized (FF) small-molecule libraries to enable direct progression from phenotypic screening to target identification in living GBM cells, including in patient-derived GBMs with amplified EGFR, this proposal is poised to inform actionable therapeutic targets for patients in vivo.

The proposed integrated approach provides a rapid route towards initiating new drug development that directly addresses the fundamental challenges of GBM.

The Leland Stanford Junior University

TO DEVELOP THE MEANS TO CURE AS MANY CANCER PATIENTS AS POSSIBLE AND TO CONTROL THE DISEASE IN THOSE PATIENTS WHO ARE NOT CURED. CANCER TREATMENT RESEARCH INCLUDES THE DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF IMPROVED METHODS OF CANCER TREATMENT THROUGH THE SUPPORT AND PERFORMANCE OF BOTH FUNDAMENTAL AND APPLIED LABORATORY AND CLINICAL RESEARCH. RESEARCH IS SUPPORTED IN THE DISCOVERY, DEVELOPMENT, AND CLINICAL TESTING OF ALL MODES OF THERAPY INCLUDING: SURGERY, RADIOTHERAPY, CHEMOTHERAPY, AND BIOLOGICAL THERAPY INCLUDING MOLECULARLY TARGETED THERAPIES, BOTH INDIVIDUALLY AND IN COMBINATION. IN ADDITION, RESEARCH IS CARRIED OUT IN AREAS OF NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT, STEM CELL AND BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION, IMAGE GUIDED THERAPIES AND STUDIES TO REDUCE TOXICITY OF CYTOTOXIC THERAPIES, AND OTHER METHODS OF SUPPORTIVE CARE THAT MAY SUPPLEMENT AND ENHANCE PRIMARY TREATMENT. SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM: TO EXPAND AND IMPROVE THE SBIR PROGRAM, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TO INCREASE SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM: TO STIMULATE AND FOSTER SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION.

93.395 - Cancer Treatment Research

National Cancer Institute (NCI) [HHS - NIH]

Stanford, California 943054005 United States

Single Zip Code

NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (PA-20-185)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 380% from $696,619 to $3,347,022.