The Desmoid Tumor Research Foundation

DTRF Announces 2022 Grant Awards

Grants

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On the heels of another successful Desmoid Tumor Awareness Month, we are thrilled to formally announce The Desmoid Tumor Research Foundation Grant Awards for 2022! 

The proposals from these institutions offer the potential for significant advancements in desmoid tumor research and align with the research priorities set by our Scientific Advisory Board. For more information, visit DTRF-Awarded Grants.

Funding for these critical projects would not be possible without the continued support of our community and donors – YOU! We would like to extend an additional special thank you to the families who have helped fund some of these important projects. 

The awards below are contingent upon a mutually agreed upon grant agreement.

To mark this exciting announcement, please consider sharing this news and/or making a donation today. 

  • Sameer Rastogi, MD, Aiims- All India Institute of Medical Science,New Delhi, “To see the early effect of sorafenib on cognition, cardiovascular and reproductive functions in patients with fibromatosis.”
  • Cristabelle De Souza, PhD, Stanford University, “Activation of c-JUN modulates the transcriptional activity of CD63 serving as a novel target for the treatment of Desmoid Type Fibromatosis.” Jointly funded by the DTRF and Desmoid Tumour Foundation of Canada (DFC)
  • Joanna Przybyl, PhD, Research Institute – Centre universitaire de santé McGill – McGill University Health Centre, “Targeting hexosamine biosynthesis pathway for the treatment of desmoid tumors.” Jointly funded by the DTRF and Desmoid Tumour Foundation of Canada (DFC)
  • Jonathan Noujaim, MD, #CanSaRCC, “Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in Desmoid-type Fibromatosis- A Canadian Multicenter Retrospective CanSaRCC Study.” Jointly funded by the DTRF and Desmoid Tumour Foundation of Canada (DFC)
  • Kris Vleminckx, PhD, Universiteit Gent, “Investigating EZH2 as a druggable mediator of immune cell exclusion in desmoid tumors.” Year 2 of 2. Jointly funded by the DTRF and Desmoid Tumour Foundation of Canada (DFC)
  • Gerlinde Wernig, MD, Stanford Medicine, Department of Pathology, “Studying CD47 blockade as an immunotherapy for desmoid-type fibromatosis.” Year 2 of 2.

Thank you for your support in our mission to find a cure for desmoid tumors!

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We are excited to announce that two, stable, long-term desmoid tumor cell lines will be available for researchers to access soon.

With the support of the DTRF, Mushriq Al-Jazrawe, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at Boehm Lab, has successfully created two stable cell lines that replicate the features of desmoid tumors. The stable cell lines can survive for long periods of time in the lab, making it easier to study desmoid tumors and perform large-scale experiments. One of these cell lines harbors a T41A mutation in the CTNNB1 gene, while the other has an S45F mutation. The cell lines will be available soon through American Type Culture Collection (ATCC).

ATCC is a private, nonprofit, global biological resource center and standards organization that provides scientists with the biomaterials and resources they need to conduct critical life science research. ATCC is one of the world’s largest suppliers of cell lines to labs around the world.

This project is only possible with our community’s support. If you would like to help champion desmoid tumor research initiatives like these, please consider making a donation.


Learn more about Desmoid Tumor Cell Lines

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The DTRF is pleased to announce that our first grant recipient of 2019 is the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard for their proposal entitled “Using genome-scale CRISPR screening to create a Desmoid Tumor Dependency Map.”

This project is directly tied to one of DTRF’s five 2019 research priorities we announced at the end of last year: “Use existing data, in addition to CRISPR data, to identify new therapies for desmoid tumors.”

While some aspects of individual desmoid tumors are shared between patients, each tumor has unique molecular and clinical characteristics. This means that selecting the right therapies for future patients with desmoid tumors requires a special type of map. This map, which would be called a “dependency map,” would enable a clinician in the future to know therapy(ies) to prescribe based on the genetic characterization of that individual patient’s tumor.

The project aims to produce freely available foundational resources and develop a pilot version of a desmoid tumor dependency map that the entire scientific community can use. They will first test a large number (>6,000) of existing drugs that might be repurposed for desmoid tumors. It’s likely that the most promising drugs for desmoid tumors likely don’t yet exist. It is for this reason that the project will focus on using new genetic tools, including a special type of molecular “scissors” called CRISPR/Cas9, to disable every gene in the genome in a systematic fashion and look for evidence of desmoid tumor cell killing in the laboratory. 

These experiments will prioritize the best targets to ensure drug companies know which targets to work on for desmoid tumors and ensure they include desmoid tumors in future drug discovery programs that might otherwise be focused on other tumor types. 

Your fundraising and donations have made this exciting grant possible! THANK YOU for helping us accelerate our journey to a cure for desmoid tumors.