Targeting STING signaling in SPOP‑mutant castration‑resistant prostate cancer
Official title: Targeting Non-Canonical STING Signaling to Treat SPOP Mutant Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Funded at University of Tx Md Anderson Can Ctr · NIH-11168771 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tests whether blocking a specific STING immune pathway can help men with castration‑resistant prostate cancer that carry SPOP mutations.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Tx Md Anderson Can Ctr NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Houston, United States) |
| Project start | September 19, 2023 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $668,323 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA281727-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11168771 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are men with castration‑resistant prostate cancer whose tumors carry SPOP mutations, and possibly those with co‑occurring CHD1 changes.
✕Less likely to help
Patients whose tumors do not have SPOP mutations are unlikely to benefit from treatments that specifically target this STING pathway.
What this research studies
Researchers are focused on prostate cancers that carry SPOP mutations and how those tumors use a non‑canonical STING‑NF‑κB pathway to survive and grow. They analyze patient tumor data and tumor samples alongside laboratory models (human and mouse cells) to see how SPOP mutations change STING signaling and the tumor microenvironment. The team will test whether disrupting that pathway, alone or combined with drugs like PARP inhibitors, reduces tumor‑promoting signals in models and identifies markers that could guide treatments. Successful lab findings would support moving toward clinical testing for patients with these specific tumor mutations.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to new targeted therapies or combination treatments for men with SPOP‑mutant castration‑resistant prostate cancer.
How similar studies have gone: Some prior work has targeted STING signaling and used PARP inhibitors in prostate cancer, but applying non‑canonical STING targeting specifically in SPOP‑mutant tumors is a relatively new and less‑tested approach.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Tx Md Anderson Can Ctr
Houston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Thompson, Timothy Charles — University of Tx Md Anderson Can Ctr
- Study coordinator: Thompson, Timothy Charles
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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.