MD anderson sarcoma spore - the overarching goal of the university of texas MD anderson cancer center (MD anderson) sarcoma spore is to reduce the morbidity and mortality from sarcomas through…

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center received a $1.82 million Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) under the Cancer Centers Support Grants program (CFDA 93.397) effective August 19, 2025, with a completion date of July 31, 2030. This award supports the MD Anderson Sarcoma Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE), which aims to reduce morbidity and mortality from sarcomas through innovative translational research. The initiative assembles a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, physician scientists, computational experts, and translational researchers to address critical gaps in sarcoma treatment across pediatric, adolescent-young adult, and adult patient populations.

The funded projects deliver two primary research initiatives: Project 2 develops an effective systemic adoptive cellular therapy platform for chordoma patients through a clinical trial utilizing adoptive T cells targeting the brachyury protein, while Project 3 evaluates and optimizes novel antibodies as antibody-drug conjugates for osteosarcoma treatment in a Phase 2 clinical trial. Both projects emphasize exploration of the immune system and tumor microenvironment as therapeutic targets, with particular focus on osteosarcoma, the most common bone tumor for which treatment progress has plateaued over the past 30+ years. These coordinated research efforts are supported by shared pathology and tissue core resources that enable seamless collaboration across the research programs.

MD anderson sarcoma spore - the overarching goal of the university of texas MD anderson cancer center (MD anderson) sarcoma spore is to reduce the morbidity and mortality from sarcomas through innovative translational research focused on immunologic and targeted treatments. To do this, we first address two critical needs in this arena. First, sarcomas are a complex assembly of collectively rare entities that, no different from the more prevalent carcinomas, require a multidisciplinary team-based approach in both clinical and pre-clinical research. Secondly, sarcomas have the added dimension of spanning the pediatric, adolescent-young adult, and adult populations. Thus, any translational research effort must be assembled to address this patient distribution. We bring together a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, physician scientists, statistical and computational experts, and basic and translational scientists who have substantial track records in the research and treatment of sarcomas across the age spectrum. Specifically, we propose the following: project 2 will develop an effective systemic adoptive cellular therapy platform for chordoma patients by pursuing a clinical trial of adoptive t cells targeting a well validated immunogenic epitope of brachyury, a well-established tumorigenic chordoma protein. Project 3 will evaluate, optimize, and refine novel antibodies, which have previously been used for cell therapies and which target proteins specifically for osteosarcoma, as antibody drug conjugates, linking them to appropriate payloads for treatment in the context of a phase 2 clinical trial. Common themes emerge from these projects, including exploration of the immune system and tumor microenvironment as targets for therapeutic activity. These projects place an emphasis on osteosarcoma, the most common tumor of bone and one where we have made virtually no treatment progress in 30+ years. All projects, working in concert with a pathology and tissue core of sarcoma experts, incorporate state-of-the-art molecular profiling of either patient biopsies or model organism samples. The data analyses and identification of risk stratification factors will be explored with a biostatistics and bioinformatics core of experienced statisticians, bioinformaticians, and computational biologists. The team is drawn from multiple departments and divisions at MD anderson spanning pediatrics and adult sarcoma practices and will be bolstered by an active patient advocate group, a team of expert external advisors with immense experience in sarcoma research and care and a core team of administrative expertise.