# NEUROPATHOLOGY/TISSUE BANK CORE

> **NIH NIH U54** · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $171,274

## Abstract

ABSTRACT – NEUROPATHOLOGY CORE
Surgical resection and/or radiotherapy effectively reduce the growth of brain metastases (BMs) in many patients.
However, after initial responses, BMs frequently acquire resistance to radiation and exhibit local and distant
progression which significantly contributes to the morbidity and mortality of cancer patients. Early clinical results
for targeting BMs by immunotherapies, including immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI), are encouraging and
indicate that combination of radiation and immunotherapies will be very beneficial to BMs patients. Currently, it
is not feasible to identify patients at risk to develop BMs prior to radiologic or clinical manifestation and to
determine responses to radiation and immunotherapies. BMs are clonally distinct from the primary cancer
intrinsically heterogeneous, which provides a challenge for effectively treating BMs. It is therefore critical to
identify predictive and prognostic BM biomarkers for cancer patients. We propose two aims to address these
unmet need in patients with solid cancers. In Aim 1. we will generate a repository for matched primary cancer-
brain metastases specimens for clinicopathologic and molecular correlations to support Projects 1, 2 and 3. We
will integrate patient-material collection into the Projects by providing regulatory oversight, quality control,
processing, storage, and tracking of archived material. Matched primary cancer-BMs specimens from different
solid cancers types will be analyzed for clinicopathologic and molecular correlations using tissue microarrays
(TMAs) and the nanoString nCounter platform. Collectively, Aim 1-related research is expected to yield predictive
biomarkers and prognostic biomarkers for rational integration of multidisciplinary treatments. In Aim 2. we
propose to centrally generate and validate clinically relevant, experimental syngeneic and xenogeneic BM
models to catalyze Projects 1, 2 and 3-related research. We will leverage the available fresh tissue collected
from cancer and BM surgeries to generate tools for all Projects, including single-cell resources and in vitro
(2D/3D-neurosphere) and in vivo BM models. Dr. Petritsch, who is heading a patient-derived modeling team, will
lead the Neuropathology Core. Dr. Vogel, who is the Director of Neuropathology, will be a Co-Investigator. The
Core will therefore leverage significant institutional resources already in place to support the U54, and the clinical
trials that we expect to result from this proposed work. The Core will centrally annotate the attached clinical,
treatment and outcomes data for all collected BMs specimens, which include FFPE tissue, TMAs, fresh tissue
and validated 2D/3D and in vivo model-derived resources. The Neuropathology Core will closely interact with
the Administrative and Data Management and Toolkit Cores. By integrating clinicopathologic studies with in vitro
and in vivo modeling of the brain metastatic process, the Neuropathology Core will cata...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10272363
- **Project number:** 1U54CA261717-01
- **Recipient organization:** STANFORD UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Claudia Katharina Petritsch
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $171,274
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-21 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10272363

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10272363, NEUROPATHOLOGY/TISSUE BANK CORE (1U54CA261717-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10272363. Licensed CC0.

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