Early-life Factors and Cancer Development Later in Life (R03)

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The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to stimulate research focused on the role of early-life factors in cancer development later in life.Given that current emerging evidence from limited research indicates a potentially important role for early-life events and exposures in cancer development, it is necessary to better understand 1) the early-life (maternal-paternal, in utero, birth and infancy, puberty and adolescence, and teenage and young adult years) factors that are associated with later cancer development; 2) how early-life factors mediate biological processes relevant to carcinogenesis; and 3) whether predictive markers for cancer risk based on what happens biologically at early-life can be measured and developed for use in cancer prevention strategies. Markers that predict malignancy or pre-malignant conditions would allow assessment of early-life exposures with relevant outcomes without having to wait 50 years for cancer development. Ultimately, a better mechanistic understanding of how early-life events and exposures contribute to the etiology of cancer later in life will allow for the development of effective interventions during pregnancy or early life that may have a profound impact on cancer prevention.

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