Researchers at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center were recently awarded a $2.5 million R01 grant from the National Cancer Institute. The five-year grant will allow Massey to evaluate the efficacy of TROP2 targeted antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) to further enhance therapeutic benefits in both breast and pancreatic cancer care.

Massey researchers, led by principal investigator Chuck Harrell, Ph.D., member of the Cancer Biology research program at Massey and professor in the Department of Pathology at the VCU School of Medicine, will look to define what enables responses and resistance to ADCs in order to identify predictive biomarkers and establish therapeutic strategies to optimize TROP2-targeted ADC efficacy in both triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).