03 Experimental Therapeutics Program

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03 EXPERIMENTAL THERAPEUTICS (ET) PROGRAM ABSTRACT The Experimental Therapeutics (ET) Program is the major translational/clinical research engine of the UAB CCC. The main objective of the ET Program is to develop novel therapeutic strategies that will provide cancer patients with an enhanced opportunity for cure and, if not cured, with an improved survival time, increased freedom from disease progression, and an improvement and relief of cancer-associated symptoms (improved quality of life). The pursuit of this overall objective involves three scientific aims: (1) to promote and implement translational clinical trials and preclinical research involving basic scientists and clinical faculty, (2) to promote discovery and validation of biomarkers that can aid in cancer diagnosis/prognosis, prediction of therapeutic response and selection of populations most likely to benefit from treatment modalities, and (3) to promote development of novel imaging technology that can be integrated into pre-clinical and translational clinical studies. These scientific goals have been enhanced by active SPORE funding (Brain, Breast, Pancreas, and Cervical cancers) and The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Promise Grant. In addition, there has been a significant expansion in scientific collaborations with Southern Research (SR) for drug discovery and development and HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology for high-throughput genetic sequencing. The drug discovery efforts of the ET Program have been enhanced by the formalization of the Phase I Clinical trials Program, and the implementation of the Alabama Drug Discovery Alliance (ADDA). Strong collaborations with other national research groups have been established including the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium (TBCRC) and the National Cooperative Groups through the NCI U10-NCTC Lead Academic Partnership Site grant. The acquisition and implementation of the cyclotron has added major pre-clinical and clinical PET research capabilities to the program. Recent key recruitments have significantly enhanced clinical trial implementation and accrual over the last two years. The ET program has continued to grow in membership, research budget, and accrual to therapeutic trials. Primary faculty in the ET Program represent 13 departments, 4 schools, SR and HudsonAlpha, with total membership increasing from 62 faculty in 2011 to 69 in 2015. The overall research budget has increased from $10,994,390 annual direct costs in 2011 to $11,222,026 annual direct costs in 2015 ($2,450,158 from the National Cancer Institute [NCI], $3,473,522 of other peer-reviewed, and $4,588,101 million in Industry annual direct research support). Patient accrual to therapeutic trials over the past four year funding period was 1,717 patients, including 32% accrual to investigator-initiated trials, 28% to pilot/phase I studies, and 33% to phase II trials. The program had 426 publications over the past five year funding period including 27% inter-programmatic and 29% intra- programmatic authorship.