The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) proposes to continue to conduct a Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in Lung Cancer. The overall goals of the UPCI Lung Cancer SPORE are to improve lung cancer detection, improve lung cancer treatment, and identify tobacco exposed individuals at highest risk for lung cancer, The SPORE program will consist of four major translational Research Projects in lung cancer, three Research Cores, an Administrative Core, a Developmental Research Program, and a Career Development Program. The UPCI Lung Cancer SPORE will use an interdisciplinary approach to meet its objectives by carrying out projects with co-investigators in basic, population, and clinical science. It is also organ-specific in its approach and all projects will test hypotheses about lung cancer biology, susceptibility, detection, prevention, or treatment. The UPCI SPORE will carry out the directive to translate its findings within five years to human populations by using new knowledge to carry out interventions in humans and to determine the biological basis for observations made in patients with lung cancer, or in individuals at high risk for lung cancer. The long-term goal of the UPCI SPORE is to conduct clinical trials based on research results from its translational research projects that will serve as the basis for improving the outcome of patients diagnosed with lung cancer and to define new biological tools that will be useful in identifying asymptomatic lung cancer. The four main Projects are: (1) Selective Targeting of Estrogen Pathways in Lung Cancer Using Biomarkers;(2) Vitamin D Modulation of Inflammation and Lung Cancer Risk;(3) Lung Cancer Risk Prediction in the Pittsburgh Lung Screening Study (4) Targeting Neutrophil Elastase in Lung Cancer. The three Research Cores will assist the main research Projects, Developmental Research Projects, and Career Development Investigators in carrying out lung cancer translational research. The Research Cores are Clinical Core (Core B), Tissue and Blood Bank Core (Core C), and Biostatistics/Bioinformatics Core (Core D). The Administrative Core (Core A) will provide scientific and fiscal oversight for the program. UPCI SPORE investigators will work together as a team to meet the goals of the program and will also interact with translational investigators from other SPOREs and Cancer Centers, the NCI Program Office, and other co-operative groups to improve outcomes for lung cancer patients.
The goal of this application is to use a multi-disciplinary approach to tackle the problem of poor outcomes in lung cancer, a deadly disease with only a 15% 5-year survival rate. We intend to improve outcomes for lung cancer patients by identifying new ways to treat the disease that are based on the biology of the individual patient's tumor and new ways to predict risk and prevent lung cancer based on an individual's genetics.
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