This $181,640 Project Grant awarded by the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.395 - Cancer Treatment Research) to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center will fund research to evaluate the use of liquid biopsy techniques, including circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and extravesicular RNA (evRNA), as predictive biomarkers to guide immunotherapy treatment decisions for patients with colorectal and anal cancers. The funding will support the Principal Investigator's leadership of two ongoing NCI-sponsored clinical trials: NRG-GI005, which is incorporating ctDNA as an integral biomarker for adjuvant chemotherapy treatment assignment, and SWOG S2107, which is evaluating a novel triple immunotherapy combination for BRAF-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer. The award will also enable the expansion of evRNA analysis to characterize treatment response in these trials. Additionally, the funding will support the Principal Investigator's role in expanding enrollment at new affiliate sites for the National Clinical Trials Network, with a focus on improving representation of underserved minority populations in NCI-sponsored trials. Overall, this grant aims to advance the use of liquid biopsy approaches to guide more personalized and effective cancer treatment strategies for patients with gastrointestinal malignancies.
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