The SPORE Program Receives Grant for Lymphoma Research

When it comes to lymphoma, many patients end up relapsing or having their symptoms worsen over time. Researchers have not given up, though. Scientists are working tirelessly to find new ways to treat and prevent lymphoma in the future.

This research can cost quite a pretty penny due to the equipment needed and test subjects (usually animals or biological samples). Many of these researchers rely on grants from universities or the government.

One center in Iowa received millions of dollars very recently for lymphoma research. We're going to dive in to the center the grant was made to, and what sort of research we can expect due to the new grant.

The program

The centers that were given the grant are the University of Iowa Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center and Mayo Clinic. They were recently inducted into the National Cancer Institute Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE), which is dedicated to putting out high-quality lymphoma research. The foundational goal of the SPORE program is to provide dynamic, productive, and translational research throughout the year. Investigators of The Holden Cancer Center and Mayo Clinic combine to work on a number of different clinical trials and studies. The studies usually center around lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Some of the previous accomplishments of The Holden Center and Mayo Clinic include:

• Discovery and identification of new markers for lymphoma tumors
• Breakthroughs that led to additional grants from the National Cancer Institute
• Publications of studies from investigators of both institutions
• Studies that have changed the way that doctors are treating lymphoma around the country

The projects

The SPORE program isn’t just sucking up money for nothing. In fact, they have four major projects that they have continued to work on. These projects all have great importance in the field of lymphoma treatment. The four projects are detailed next.

1. Activating Phagocytic Macrophages in non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

While this may sound extremely complicated, it has many incredible applications in the lymphoma world. This project essentially aims to tackle malignant lymphoma cells overexpressing the CD47 protein. This protein sends out a signal that protects the cells from being eaten by macrophages (organisms that eat cancer cells). This project seeks to block the CD47 protein being sent out by the lymphoma cells so that macrophages can more easily destroy the cells. The researchers have noted that some cells emit more CD47 than others, which throws a bit of a wrench in the plan to block the protein. To solve this, researchers in the SPORE program want to figure out the function of both of these types of lymphoma cells in the progression of the disease. The researchers also want to figure out if the immune system ever targets lymphoma cells, and under what circumstances it would do so. Lastly, the researchers would test if blocking the CD47 signals would help the anti-tumor response.

Read on to learn more about the other SPORE projects and what they mean for the future of lymphoma research and treatment.