Upcoming Cancer Moonshot℠ Funding Opportunities

In response to recommendations provided in the Blue Ribbon Panel (BRP) report, NCI established implementation teams to consider multiple ways to fund Cancer Moonshot-related research. The teams have identified the following nine upcoming scientific opportunities that directly address the goals of the Cancer Moonshot.

These funding opportunities are expected to be formally released in the coming months, and awards are expected to be made pending the appropriation of fiscal year (FY) 2018 funding for Cancer Moonshot. We encourage you to sign up to receive automatic updatesto learn more as they do become available.

Immuno-Oncology Translational Network (IOTN)

This FOA will establish a Cancer Immunotherapy Consortium (CIC) to facilitate multi-disciplinary, collaborative approaches to accelerate understanding of the tumor immune microenvironment at different stages of tumor progression and in response to intervention. An immunoprevention component will also develop vaccine strategies with the goal of preventing cancers before they occur. Other components include a Data Registry and Biorepository to accelerate optimization of cell-based immunotherapies to impact cancers with a low mutation burden and a Data Management and Resource-Sharing Center (DMRC) to provide overall support an integrate the CIC and Data Registry and Biorepository with other NCI programs. The goal of the IOTN is to provide a systematic and comprehensive understanding of immune cell-tumor interactions-across multiple major human cancers, both “hot” and “cold” to define how tumor cells alter immune cell function to generate immunosuppressive tumor promoting environments and how to reprogram either specific immune cells or the cancer microenvironment, in general, to promote anti-tumor immune responses.

Pediatric Immunotherapy Discovery and Development Network (PI-DDN)

These FOAs will seek to establish a collaborative-research network to identify and advance research opportunities for translating immunotherapy concepts for children and adolescents with cancer toward clinical applications. The goals of the network and potential areas of focus will include identifying new targets for immunotherapies, developing new pediatric immunotherapy treatment approaches (e.g., cancer vaccines, cellular therapy, combinations of immunotherapy agents, and others), and defining the biological mechanisms by which pediatric tumors evade the immune system.

Mechanisms of Cancer Drug Resistance and Sensitivity Network Coordinating Center

This FOA seeks applications for a coordinating center to support teams within the Drug Resistance/ and Sensitivity Network (DSRN) through network coordination, statistical and computational assistance, data management and harmonization, and integration assistance with other Moonshot goals and NCI Precision Medicine programs. This coordinating center will also provide a platform that enhances collaboration along the basic-preclinical-clinical spectrum of the network and facilitates sharing of unique resources/tools, and outreach to NCI programs and extramural research communities.

Collaborative Research Network for Fusion Oncoproteins in Childhood Cancers

This FOA will establish a multi-disciplinary, collaborative network of investigators to advance our understanding of the mechanisms of action of fusion oncoproteins in pediatric cancers and use this information to develop targeted therapeutics. Applications of interest would develop multi-disciplinary and ideally multi-institutional research centers focused on select fusion oncoproteins implicated in childhood cancers that have a high risk of treatment failure and for which there has been little progress in identifying targeted agents. Each team should have a comprehensive research plan that includes both investigation into biological mechanisms of tumorgenesis and the development of targeted therapeutics. Research projects may include, but are not limited to the following: The development of faithful models of fusion-driven childhood cancers; the identification of the critical dependencies created by fusion oncoproteins; studies to increase the knowledge of the binding partners of fusion oncoproteins and the pathways by which they influence gene expression and development programs; and the identification of small molecules with potential therapeutic value.

Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) and Patient Reported Outcomes-CTCAE (PRO-CTCAE)

This FOA seeks to stimulate the development of methods for analyzing PRO-CTCAE data in the context of cancer clinical trials and to create a consortium of funded investigators to share analytic approaches. This research would include the use of PRO-CTCAE data in conjunction with other relevant clinical trial data (CTCAE, clinical, pharmacokinetic) to improve understanding of tolerability, dose, and schedule optimization. In addition, applications that are responsive to the FOA will propose novel analytic methods to analyze, interpret or represent PRO-CTCAE and other data combinations that inform future study design.

Improving Management of Symptoms Across Cancer Treatments (IMPACT)

The IMPACT FOA will create a network of research centers and a coordination center in which each research center is expected to deploy and test an integrated symptom assessment and management system in multiple clinical practices using a randomized design. The coordinating center will assist with integration of data and management of efforts across the research centers. The goals of IMPACT include: development of optimal models for monitoring and addressing symptoms in routine practice; examination of the impact of these models on symptom control, functioning, treatment delivery, and healthcare utilization; analysis of network-wide data to examine cross-cutting issues; and generation of findings and materials to support wider implementation.

Approaches to Identify and Care for Individuals with Inherited Cancer Syndromes

This FOA will call for proposals that develop and test methods to improve ascertainment and delivery of evidence-based services for those with hereditary cancer syndromes while also encouraging the development of sustainable approaches in diverse healthcare settings and populations, and the identification of demonstration metrics for successful and sustainable ascertainment, consultation, and interpretation of genetic testing. This will require data sharing across funded sites and the general research community; evidence of research productivity and impact; an increase in implementation science applications addressing the totality of clinical care; evidence of increased and sustained referrals to genetic counseling that are clinically justified; and outreach to diverse patient populations.

Accelerating Colorectal Cancer Screening and Follow-Up Through Implementation Science (ACCSIS)

The ACCSIS FOA will help support several research grants and one coordinating center to test implementation strategies that substantially improve colorectal cancer (CRC) screening and follow-up rates in populations where baseline rates remain low, particularly among underserved groups (e.g., racial and ethnic minority populations, people living in rural or difficult-to-reach areas). This research will require a process for identifying local innovations in CRC screening and follow-up; testing multi-level implementation strategies; and disseminating study findings across participating institutions and relevant stakeholder groups.

Human Tumor Atlas (HTA) Network

These FOAs will assemble several highly integrated HTA Research Centers whose goal will be to construct pilot-scale high priority human tumor atlases that describe critical transitions in tumorigenesis for use by the research and clinical communities. Additionally, complementary Pre-Cancer Atlas Research Centers will focus on characterization of pre-malignant lesions. An HTA Coordinating Center will also be included to integrate the HTA Network through administrative and scientific support and to facilitate distribution of HTA Network data and resources to the scientific community. Ultimately, the HTA network aims to build a preliminary set of comprehensive human tumor maps that define tumor heterogeneity within and across patients in high priority adult and pediatric cancers; provide data that quantify the dynamics and 3D architecture of the tumor ecosystem during important disease transitions; and facilitate predictive modeling that leads to the development of new risk stratification methods, better treatment options for patients, and improved understanding of disease mechanism.