> Our Work > The Work We Fund

2021 Varian-PCF Young Investigator Award

Dissecting Tumor-Immune Dynamics and Radiotherapy Response in Oligometastatic Prostate Cancer

Sophia Kamran, MD
Harvard: Massachusetts General Hospital

Mentors: Jason Efstathiou, MD DPhil, Eliezer Van Allen, MD

Description:

  • Emerging evidence suggests that metastasis-targeted radiation therapy (RT) can extend survival in patients with oligometastatic prostate cancer, a clinical state in which a patient has fewer than 3-5 metastatic lesions. Preclinical studies suggest that this may be due to RT-mediated activation of anti-tumor immune responses. This suggests that immunotherapy may synergize with RT in the treatment of oligometastatic prostate cancer.
  • However, oligometastatic prostate cancer has not been fully characterized, with varying clinical definitions and poor understanding of the underlying biology. It has been suggested that a delicate balance of tumor-immune dynamics maintain the oligometastatic state, and disruption of these dynamics with RT may tip the scale in favor of anti-tumor immunity.
  • Dr. Sophia Kamran is studying the tumor and immune biology of the oligometastatic prostate cancer state.
  • In this project, Dr. Kamran will compare tumor genomic alterations in oligometastatic prostate cancer with localized and widely metastatic prostate cancer, in order to determine if unique genomic alterations contribute to this state.
  • Comprehensive profiles of T cells and other anti-tumor immune cells in oligometastatic prostate cancer will be determined before and after RT treatment, in order to identify immune features that correlate with long-term responses to RT.
  • If successful, this project will improve understanding of the tumor-immune biology of oligometastatic prostate cancer and identify biomarkers and mechanisms of response to RT. This will be used to inform the design of clinical trials that combine RT with immunotherapy in select oligometastatic prostate cancer patients, with the goal of further improving clinical outcomes.

What this means to patients: Oligometastatic prostate cancer represents an early and possibly biologically distinct state of prostate cancer that may be curable. Dr. Kamran will identify tumor and immune biomarkers that predict response of oligometastatic prostate cancer to RT, and may be used to inform more effective treatment strategies that combine RT with immunotherapy.