Strategic Partnering to Evaluate Cancer Signatures [SPECS II] (U01)

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Purpose. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), issued by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), encourages the submission of grant applications for support of the clinical application of multi-analyte molecular signatures derived from comprehensive molecular annotation of tumors. There is growing recognition in the clinical cancer research community that annotation of tumor specimens with data that integrates information about molecular alterations at the levels of DNA, RNA, and protein provides not only a more complete understanding of tumor biology but also provides a significant opportunity for developing new clinical tools to improve cancer treatment. Translating the knowledge gained from this molecular annotation into tools that can be used in clinical decision-making remains a major challenge. The purpose of this initiative is to build on recent demonstrations that molecular signatures correlate with important clinical parameters in cancer. The goal of this initiative is also to create publications and data sets that will be available and accessible to the scientific community in order to further the development, design, and conduct of future clinical trials (e.g., incorporation of molecular signatures into future clinical trials and large clinical validation studies) and to encourage appropriate commercialization to benefit the public health. The NCI invites investigators to form strategic partnerships that will bring together the multi-disciplinary expertise and resources needed to determine how the information derived from comprehensive molecular analyses can be used to improve patient care and, ultimately, patient outcomes. Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize the NIH U01 cooperative agreement mechanism. Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. Awards issued under this FOA are contingent upon the availability of funds and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.

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