Brain tumor SPORE grant supporting biomarker and immunotherapy advances
Official title: Brain Tumor SPORE Grant
Funded at University of California, San Francisco · NIH-11399828 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A UCSF team is working with brain cancer patients to develop new blood and imaging markers and a novel immunotherapy to improve care.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Francisco NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Francisco, United States) |
| Project start | September 20, 2002 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $2,897,892 |
| NIH project number | 5P50CA097257-24 |
| Project ID | NIH-11399828 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults with glioma/brain tumor diagnoses who can provide blood samples and participate in imaging and treatment studies.
✕Less likely to help
Patients who cannot participate in biomarker or imaging studies or who do not meet safety criteria may not benefit.
What this research studies
This grant backs translational work from the UCSF Neuro-Oncology Program to help people with brain tumors. Researchers will build blood-based biomarkers, explore metabolic markers for imaging tumor burden and treatment response, and test a new immunotherapy approach. The project relies on human samples and aims to define endpoints relevant to patient outcomes, including prognosis and treatment effectiveness. By integrating biomarker discovery with prospective patient data, the team hopes to tailor therapies and monitor disease more accurately.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients with brain tumors could receive more precise prognoses and more effective, personalized treatments.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work has shown promise in blood-based and imaging biomarkers for brain tumors, with ongoing translational efforts.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Berger, Mitchel S. — University of California, San Francisco
- Study coordinator: Berger, Mitchel S.
Related research
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.