Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) awarded a $578,559 Project Grant to Boston Children's Hospital under the Cancer Biology Research program (CFDA 93.396) for the five-year period from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2031. The award funds fundamental research investigating the tumor suppressor function of P190A RhoGAP, a protein encoded by the ARHGAP35 gene that has been identified as significantly altered in human cancers. The research establishes mechanistic pathways through which P190A suppresses tumor growth via Hippo signaling activation and mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition, with prior work demonstrating that cancer-associated mutations in ARHGAP35 result in loss of tumor suppressor function.

The project delivers research outputs across two primary aims: (1) characterization of autophagy defects in cancer cells with ARHGAP35 alterations and determination of therapeutic vulnerabilities through genetic and pharmacologic intervention, and (2) expansion and validation of drug screening against isogenic non-small cell lung cancer cell lines, with emphasis on tubulin and kinesin-11 inhibitors that demonstrated promising activity in preliminary screening. The research is conducted at Boston Children's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, in collaboration with the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) at the National Institutes of Health, and is designed to identify therapeutic strategies targeting ARHGAP35-altered cancers.