# Radiation Oncology-Biology Integration Network on Oligometastasis (ROBIN OligoMET) Center

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE · 2022 · $1,533,675

## Abstract

Metastasis is a complex systems problem, with critical changes across cell, tissue, organ, and organism scales.
The limited efficacy of current therapies in metastatic patients argues that we do not fully understand metastasis.
The metastatic capacity of prostate cancer (PCa) behaves along a spectrum of disease that contains an
oligometastatic state where metastases are limited in number and location. Radiation consolidation of all tumor
deposits in oligometastatic PCa to forestall further progression is now backed by small randomized studies in
the recurrent setting, but the utility in the de novo space is unknown. These are important early clinical data
suggesting the existence of an oligometastatic state and the importance of radiation consolidation in altering
underlying metastatic proclivity which has immediate impact for the management of these patients. Our U54
ROBIN Oligometastasis (ROBIN OligoMET) Center brings together pre-eminent faculty from the University of
Maryland (UM), Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) and Thomas Jefferson University (TJU) to study mechanisms of
how radiation therapy (RT) can affect the metastatic process in de novo oligometastatic PCa. This
multidisciplinary perspective enables us to bring the latest clinical trial, profiling and computational methods to
bear on the most clinically relevant aspects of oligometastasis. This in turn will lead to the development of new
approaches for using RT to combat metastases. This U54 ROBIN OligoMET Center will be led by Drs. Phuoc
Tran, Nicole Simone and Amit Sawant (MPI). Project leadership comprises faculty with strong backgrounds in
radiation biology, physics and metastasis research: Project 1 (Genomics, radiomics and liquid biopsies) is led
by Drs. Tran, Ren and Sawant; Project 2 (Metabolomics and disparities) is led by Dr. Simone; and the Resource
Sharing and Cross-Training Cores are led by Drs. Luigi Marchionni, Sawant and Ren. We bring a diversity of
model systems, experimental methods, and conceptual frameworks. The projects integrate state-of-the-art
tissue, liquid and radiomic multi-parametric profiling techniques from humans complimented with syngeneic
mouse tumor models in the context of a first-in-man phase 2 randomized trial. Data will be integrated using novel
network methods to prioritize candidates for functional validation across projects. Scientific and logistical
integration will be ensured by an Administrative Core. Multi-omics analysis and integration, quantitative image
analysis, and network analysis will be conducted in the Cross-Training Core. The ROBIN OligoMET Center will
test the global hypothesis that consolidative radiation can alter cancer cell state plasticity and host-tumor
metabolism that drives metastasis formation. AIM #1 – Identify cancer cell intrinsic and tumor microenvironment
plasticity mechanisms modulated by radiation that change metastatic proclivity. AIM #2 – Determine metabolic
changes that regulate anti-tumor immunity and metastasis i...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10515449
- **Project number:** 1U54CA273956-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE
- **Principal Investigator:** Amit Sawant
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $1,533,675
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-08-04 → 2027-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10515449

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10515449, Radiation Oncology-Biology Integration Network on Oligometastasis (ROBIN OligoMET) Center (1U54CA273956-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10515449. Licensed CC0.

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