# Program 30: Neuro-Oncology

> **NIH NIH P30** · DANA-FARBER CANCER INST · 2020 · $2,948

## Abstract

The mission of the Neuro-Oncology Program is to improve the standard of care for brain cancers. The
Program features a broad portfolio of research initiatives in the general clinical disciplines (medical, radiation
and surgical oncology) and in therapeutically relevant scientific areas (e.g. oncolytic viruses, signal
transduction, angiogenesis, tumor immunology). For this CCSG renewal, we will focus on astrocytomas – the
most lethal brain tumor of adults and the most common brain tumor of childhood. We have four specific aims:
Aim one is to determine why adult gliomas are unresponsive to signal transduction antagonists that are 1)
genetically indicated, 2) brain-penetrant, and 3) effective in other cancers. Aim two is to adapt emerging tools
of immunotherapy to the treatment of adult gliomas. Our study plan addresses an important unmet need in this
area - namely a broader portfolio of antigenic targets for glioma. We will explore a whole exome sequencing
approach (NeoVax) that generates synthetic peptide vaccines corresponding to novel open reading frames
encoding cell surface proteins on tumor cells. Aim three addresses IDH mutant gliomas in young adults. Our
preclinical work, together with early clinical data, suggests that effects of the oncometabolite R-2HG in glioma
will, unlike leukemia, not be reversible on a clinically relevant time-scale. Our study plan draws upon new
imaging techniques for visualizing R-2HG in IDH mutant glioma patients and a synthetic lethal approach to
drug development based upon actionable metabolic changes that arise as a consequence of IDH1 mutation.
Aim four is to develop targeted therapeutics for pediatric gliomas. Activating mutations of the serine/threonine
protein kinase BRAF are found in 70-75% of pediatric low-grade astrocytomas (PLGAs). Our study plan
addresses the unmet need for effective brain-penetrant RAF inhibitors for PLGA.
 The Program is led by Tracy Batchelor MDMGH and Charles Stiles, PhDDFCI. At the time of the last
CCSG renewal in 2011 it received a merit score of “outstanding to excellent”. There are 94 members in the
Program drawn from all seven DF/HCC member institutions. Collectively, the members receive over $31
million per year in cancer-relevant funding. Of this total research support package, $11.6 million is NCI funding
and another $8.4M is from other peer-reviewed sources including NINDS (which, in a unique relationship,
shares the burden of brain cancer research with NCI). The remaining $12M is from non peer-reviewed
sources. One prominent component of the support package is a SPORE/P50 grant on glioma, newly awarded
since the last CCSG renewal in 2011. Another important grant is a P01 on pediatric astrocytoma - one of just
two P01s, nation-wide focused exclusively on pediatric brain cancer. During the project period, Neuro-
Oncology Program members generated over 1,000 publications. Of these, 25% were inter-institutional, 26%
were intra-programmatic, and 31% were inter-programmatic co...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10063195
- **Project number:** 3P30CA006516-55S4
- **Recipient organization:** DANA-FARBER CANCER INST
- **Principal Investigator:** Charles D Stiles
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $2,948
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10063195

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10063195, Program 30: Neuro-Oncology (3P30CA006516-55S4). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10063195. Licensed CC0.

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