# Head and Neck Cancer SPORE

> **NIH NIH P50** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2024 · $2,030,091

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY – OVERALL
 For more than 15 years, the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center (HCC) Head and Neck SPORE has facilitated
practice change in diagnosis and treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) and other
head and neck cancers. For the renewal period, the SPORE will focus on the remaining problems of
debilitating toxicities, low immunotherapy response rates, and the need for precision oncology in HNSCC
treatment. Through its multidisciplinary project teams, four clinical trials, and analysis of a completed clinical
trial, the SPORE will investigate: 1) how hypoxia and metabolic dysregulation leads to PD-1 immunotherapy
resistance and how it can be overcome, 2) how patients with human papillomavirus-positive oropharyngeal
cancers can be optimally selected for deintensified therapy, and 3) which biomarkers can be used for
predicting responsiveness to combined immunotherapy with PD-1 and LAG3 inhibitors. The studies will be
conducted with the support of state-of-the-art Cores that provide access to over 6,400 well-characterized,
clinically annotated biospecimens; biostatistical and bioinformatics support; and advanced technology
platforms that include multiplexed cytometry and imaging, next generation and single sequencing; and
radiomic and radiogenomic analyses based on features extracted from patient CT scans. Through the
SPORE’s Developmental Research Program (DRP) and Career Enhancement Program (CEP),
translational head and neck cancer research will be further advanced with new ideas, research strategies, and
investigators. These programs will focus heavily on increasing diversity by attracting and advancing projects
from woman and underrepresented minorities groups via internal initiatives and external collaborations. Critical
to the success of the research is the wealth of longitudinal clinical data collected on nearly 12,000 patients with
longitudinal 30 years’ of clinical follow up in the SPORE’s Organ Specific Database (OSD), which is now been
expanded to include quality of life measures, as well as extensive genomics, radiomics and transcriptomic
data. Established horizontal and vertical collaborations with other Cancer Centers, national cooperative trial
groups, industrial partners enable and extend the efforts of the SPORE investigators. Submission of this
renewal application was intentionally taken off cycle, separating its renewal cycle from the HCC CCSG P30, to
maximize institutional resources that could be devoted to both applications, as well as to provide additional
time for newly recruited SPORE leaders to collaborate and solidify their interactions as a team at HCC. HCC’s
has continued to support the HN SPORE, including soliciting CEP and DRP awards, highlight its strong
commitment to its renewal.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10923896
- **Project number:** 5P50CA097190-18
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Heath Devin Skinner
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $2,030,091
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2004-07-01 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10923896

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10923896, Head and Neck Cancer SPORE (5P50CA097190-18). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10923896. Licensed CC0.

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