ARLINGTON, Va., November 4, 2025 — The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) recently announced the three winning research proposals for the 2025 ASTRO-AstraZeneca Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) Therapy Challenge during its 2025 Annual Meeting.
The Challenge aimed to identify research that will improve therapies and outcomes for patients with limited-stage SCLC through the integration of consolidation immunotherapy and emerging radiation therapy techniques. AstraZeneca awarded up to $750,000 across three projects.
Proposals covered a wide range of ideas, from optimizing chemoradiation with consolidation immunotherapy and exploring new radiation therapy methods to using biomarkers and AI to guide treatment decisions and improve patient outcomes. The selected proposals and principal investigators are:
- Arya Amini, MD, City of Hope Beckman Research Institute: “Phase II Trial of Stereotactic Ablative Radiation Therapy (SABR) in Patients with Oligoprogressive Small Cell Lung Carcinoma (SCLC)”
- Nitin Ohri, MD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine: “Chemoradiotherapy Optimized for Immunotherapy for Limited Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer (COILSS)”
- Michael Waters, MD, PhD, Washington University in St. Louis: “Precision Oncology in LS-SCLC: AI-Driven Dosimetric and Genomic Biomarkers for Outcome Prediction”
Phuoc Tran, MD, PhD, an ASTRO leader in establishing this award, said, "The 2025 ASTRO-AstraZeneca SCLC Therapy Challenge exemplifies the power of collaboration between academia, industry and professional societies to accelerate innovation in cancer care. The selected projects reflect bold, thoughtful approaches to improving outcomes for patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer. We are eager to see how these efforts will advance the integration of immunotherapy and radiation, and we are deeply grateful to ASTRO and AstraZeneca for championing this important work."
Percy Lee, MD, FASTRO, Chair of the Challenge’s expert review panel, added, “The projects selected through this Challenge showcase the creativity and dedication of our research community and carry tremendous promise to advance the integration of immunotherapy and radiation. Most importantly, they represent hope for patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer. We are thankful to the investigators, reviewers and AstraZeneca for their partnership in bringing this important research forward.”
A panel of ASTRO members with relevant clinical and research expertise served on the Challenge’s scientific advisory team and judging panel to ensure that the selected proposals represented the most promising directions for SCLC research.
ABOUT THE ASTRO SCIENTIFIC CHALLENGES PROGRAM
The ASTRO Advancing-Medicine-Together Scientific Challenges program seeks to introduce and catalyze new collaborative research opportunities for ASTRO members and to facilitate radiation oncology leadership in scientific discovery and engagement with industry partners. This program seeks to forge new collaborations, increase radiation oncology research funding, and enhance the visibility for radiation oncology researchers to demonstrate their scientific research capabilities and excellence. Previous partnerships include a 2023 offering with Sumitomo Pharma and Pfizer.
ABOUT ASTRO
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) is the world’s largest professional society dedicated to advancing radiation oncology, with 10,000 members including physicians, nurses, physicists, radiation therapists, dosimetrists and other professionals who work to improve patient outcomes through clinical care, research, education and policy advocacy. Radiation therapy is integral to 40% of cancer cures worldwide, and more than one million Americans receive radiation treatments for their cancer each year. For information on radiation therapy, visit RTAnswers.org. To learn more about ASTRO, visit our website and media center and connect with us on social media.