None

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

All applications to this funding opportunity announcement should fall within the mission of the Institutes/Centers. The following NIH Offices may co-fund applications assigned to those Institutes/Centers.

Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH)

The purpose of this announcement is to alert the community that the National Cancer Institute (NCI) plans to publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to invite applications for Cancer Prevention, Detection, Diagnosis, and Treatment Technologies for Global Health (U01 activity code). This FOA supports the development of cancer-relevant technologies suitable for use in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Specifically, the FOA solicits applications for projects to adapt, apply, and validate existing or emerging technologies into a new generation of user-friendly, low-cost technologies for preventing, detecting, diagnosing, and/or treating cancers in people living in LMICs.

This Notice encourages investigators with expertise and insight into the areas of global oncology and global health technology research and development to begin developing responsive applications.

This funding opportunity is part of a broader NCI-sponsored Affordable Cancer Technologies (ACTs) Program.

The intended FOA will utilize the U01 Cooperative Agreement mechanism (Clinical Trial Optional).

It is estimated that more than two-thirds of the 9.5 million annual cancer deaths in the world occur in LMICs. Furthermore, the incidence rate of cancer is on the rise in populations of many LMICs, with substantial inequalities in cancer survival rates across the world. Access to cancer prevention, screening, detection, diagnosis, and treatment is a significant challenge in many LMICs, especially in areas with limited infrastructure. Prevention, early detection, and treatment are vital to successful cancer control. Unfortunately, many established cancer control technologies are not suitable for use in low-resource settings, either globally or in the U.S., due to expense, dependency on extensive medical infrastructure, or both.

Many cutting edge, innovative technologies, such as lab-on-a-chip, portable ablative devices, machine learning enabled imaging modalities, and liquid biopsies have potential for use in LMICs. Recent developments in consumer electronics, microfabrication, cellular phone communications, and hand-held computers have further improved the prospect for adaptation into sensitive, low-cost versions suitable for use in remote locations. Additionally, various existing portable technologies and minimally invasive diagnostic/treatment methods might be suitable for low-resource settings.

The ACTs program supports resource-appropriate translational technology research for cancer where affordability and potential impact in low-resource settings are essential design components. Furthermore, technologies supported through the ACTs program are validated in real-world health settings in LMICs, leading to the promise of additional innovations (e.g., enabling use by minimally trained health workers, use at the clinical point-of-need, and robust adaptability to diverse environmental conditions and health care systems). Lastly, the technologies advanced through the ACTs program may not only be relevant for LMICs but may additionally provide invaluable insights and tools appropriate for addressing cancer disparities domestically (e.g., urban and/or rural disparities).

Applicants should have a working assay or device prototype (not necessarily designed for addressing cancer, but with the potential for cancer applications). The U01 project includes studies to both adapt this technology, as well as demonstrate technical functionality and clinical performance for use of the device or assay in specific LMIC settings, by meeting objective performance milestones, followed by improvements and validations of the technologies in the LMIC settings. Projects proposed in response to this FOA will require multidisciplinary efforts to succeed; therefore, all applicant teams must include expertise in engineering/assay/treatment development, oncology, global healthcare delivery, and business development. Investigators responding to this FOA must consider affordability and cost-effectiveness, as well as usability at the point-of-need, as part of their design criteria.

TBD