$12 Million Grant Boosts Head, Neck Cancer Research

The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center has been awarded its fifth Specialized Program of Research Excellence, or SPORE grant, from the National Cancer Institute. SPORE grants recognize specific areas of cancer research.

With this latest $12 million, five-year grant, M.D. Anderson is the first academic medical center to receive a SPORE grant dedicated to head and neck cancer research.

Types of head and neck cancer include cancers of the jaw, mouth, throat, nose, nasal cavity, salivary glands, sinuses, thyroid and larynx. American Cancer Society figures estimate that 37,800 new cases of head and neck cancer will be diagnosed in the United States this year. More than 90 percent of cases are associated with tobacco and alcohol use.

Waun Ki Hong, M.D., head of the division of cancer medicine and chairman of thoracic/head and neck medical oncology, is the principal investigator for the grant, which gives a boost to M.D. Anderson’s integrated head and neck cancer research program. Reuben Lotan, Ph.D., professor of thoracic/head and neck medical oncology, and Gary Clayman, M.D., D.D.S., professor of head and neck surgery, serve as the grant’s co-principal investigators.

“M.D. Anderson has made great strides in treating head and neck cancer patients while maintaining quality of life for our patients,” Hong says. “We are already hard at work, and with this additional funding, we hope to make more progress in reducing head and neck cancer and ensure that patients with these diseases receive state-of-the-art medical care with cutting-edge therapeutic approaches.”

The head and neck SPORE grant funds will support research in five areas: identifying genetic susceptibility markers and high-risk populations for head and neck cancers; angiogenic therapy; epidermal growth factor receptors for chemoprevention; p53 tumor suppressor gene therapy for reversal of oral cavity premalignancies; and apoptosis, or cell death.

The SPORE research team includes researchers and specialists in head and neck surgery and medical oncology, pathology, basic science, genetics, and biostatistics. SPORE funds will also establish a career development program to train physicians and scientists with a focus on translational research in head and neck cancer.

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