Research Project
10263986
PROJECT 003 ? HOST-TUMOR INTERACTIONS RESEARCH PROGRAM PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The Host-Tumor Interactions Research Program (HT) consists of basic and translational scientists focused on discovering the interactions between tumor cells and their host and developing strategies to interrupt those interactions to target and control tumor progression and metastasis. The central premise of HT is that tumor growth, invasion and metastasis, as well as the tumor's response to therapies, depend on interactions between cancer, stromal and immune cells with the matrix and factors in the tumor microenvironment. The long-term scientific goal of HT is to develop a detailed mechanistic understanding of not just the tumor cell, but also all the components of the tumor microenvironment that influence cancer and the response to cancer therapies. These interactions are best studied by integrating knowledge and paradigms from many disciplines in addition to basic science cancer biology, including immunology, single cell analyses, computation and mathematical modeling and novel imaging strategies. In this renewal, HT has leveraged the strengths of its membership to explicitly incorporate individuals with immunology, modeling and imaging expertise to rigorously investigate the aims of HT, which are to: 1. Identify molecules and mechanisms through which tumors evade the immune system and establish how anti-tumor immune responses can be enhanced to eliminate tumors using novel immunotherapies. 2. Discover cellular and molecular interactions between the tumor microenvironment and tumor cells to better understand the complexity of cell populations and stromal interactions in tumors 3. Utilize and develop new imaging and computational tools based on the molecular and biochemical characteristics of cancer cells and tumors To enable these goals, we will establish dynamic, multi-disciplinary collaborations and educational opportunities that will accelerate these discoveries and lead to clinical translation. The strong expertise of the Program is focused on understanding interactions of cancer cells with the host at the cellular, tissue and organism level to discover basic mechanisms and address the needs of the VICC catchment area while providing training for the next generation of cancer researchers. There are 39 program members from 14 departments and four schools with $14.3M in total peer-reviewed funding and NCI making up 33% ($4.7M). Out of 633 publications, 11% are intra-programmatic and 31% are inter-programmatic. Members also have 195 collaborative publications with investigators at other NCI- designated cancer centers.
