Prostate Cancer SPORE

Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in men.

The goal of the MD Anderson Prostate Cancer SPORE is to contribute in a meaningful way to the elimination of prostate cancer as a health risk.

What is a SPORE?

SPORE stands for Specialized Program of Research Excellence. Funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) with a $11.7 million grant, the program is part of a nation-wide initiative to speed the flow of promising knowledge from the laboratory to the clinic, where it will benefit patients the most. MD Anderson has 6 SPORE grants, including grants to study bladder, brain, and ovarian cancers.

The Prostate Cancer SPORE will enhance MD Anderson's ongoing efforts to develop new, better treatments and therapies for prostate cancer, and to understand the biological basis of clinical observations.

Our Program

We have assembled talented clinical and fundamental research scientists who are dedicated to translational (bench-to-bedside) research in prostate cancer. The Prostate Cancer SPORE consists of:

• Four major research projects that focus on multidisciplinary studies targeting advanced prostate cancer
• A career enhancement program that trains physicians and scientists to create research projects that lead quickly to new therapies
• A developmental research program designed to support promising pilot studies of prostate cancer
• Three "core" entities (administrative, biospecimen and pathology, and biostatistics and bioinformatics) that support the Prostate Cancer SPORE's research projects

By promoting new collaborations and extending existing ones with established prostate cancer SPOREs across the country, the MD Anderson Cancer Center Prostate Cancer SPORE aims to develop new and effective strategies to prevent, detect and treat prostate cancer. Our common hope is to reduce cancer incidence and mortality, improve the quality of life for cancer patients and, ultimately, to conquer this disease.