Research to Reduce Morbidity and Improve Care for Pediatric, and Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Survivors (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA CA 20 027

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA CA 20 027

This funding opportunity, RFA-CA-20-027, is a National Cancer Institute (NCI) R01 grant announcement designed to support research that reduces illness (morbidity) and improves care and health-related quality of life for people who survived cancer diagnosed in childhood, adolescence, or as adolescents and young adults (AYA). The focus is on the long-term needs of survivors, recognizing that many face ongoing medical, psychological, and social challenges after treatment ends, including late effects of therapy, risk of recurrence, and risk of subsequent (second) cancers. The announcement allows a broad range of study types, including mechanistic work that helps explain how and why health problems develop after treatment, observational studies that track outcomes and identify patterns or predictors, and intervention studies that test strategies to improve care and reduce long-term burden. Clinical trials are optional, meaning applicants can propose trials if appropriate, but they are not required.

NCI highlights six major research domains to guide applications. First, the FOA prioritizes research on disparities in survivor outcomes, including differences tied to race, ethnicity, geography, income, insurance status, and other structural or social factors that influence long-term health. Second, it seeks studies on barriers to appropriate follow-up care, such as problems with access to survivorship services, gaps in continuity of care when patients age out of pediatric systems, limited specialist availability, costs, transportation, health literacy, and challenges with adherence to surveillance and preventive recommendations. Third, it encourages work that examines how family context, socioeconomic circumstances, and broader environmental conditions shape survivor outcomes, including the ways caregiver support, household stressors, neighborhood resources, education, employment, and social determinants of health influence recovery and long-term wellbeing.

Fourth, the FOA calls for research that improves how clinicians identify which survivors need what kind of long-term follow-up, and when. That includes developing or validating indicators, markers, or risk stratification approaches that can guide survivorship care based on an individual’s treatment exposures and evolving health risks for late effects, recurrence, and subsequent cancers. Fifth, the announcement supports studies that clarify risk factors and predictors of late and long-term effects from cancer treatment, which can include cardiotoxicity, endocrine and fertility problems, neurocognitive impacts, psychosocial outcomes, chronic pain and fatigue, secondary malignancies, and other organ-specific or functional complications. Sixth, it invites development and testing of targeted interventions aimed at directly reducing burden for pediatric and AYA survivors. These interventions could be clinical, behavioral, psychosocial, care-delivery, or technology-enabled, as long as they are designed to measurably improve survivorship outcomes, reduce morbidity, or improve quality of life.

The grant mechanism is an NIH R01, which generally supports investigator-initiated, multi-year research projects and can accommodate diverse designs, from cohort studies and secondary data analyses to clinic-based or community-based interventions. The activity category is listed under education and health, and the associated CFDA numbers are 93.393, 93.394, and 93.399, reflecting NCI’s broader cancer research assistance programs. While the source listing does not specify an award ceiling or number of expected awards, the intent is to fund high-impact projects that can move survivorship care forward in a practical way, either by explaining mechanisms, identifying actionable risk factors, improving follow-up systems, or producing scalable interventions.

Eligibility is intentionally broad to encourage participation from many types of institutions and communities that serve survivors. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; public and private institutions of higher education; independent school districts; special district governments; federally recognized Native American tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) as well as small businesses; and other organizations. The FOA also explicitly notes additional eligible applicant categories such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, U.S. territories or possessions, and non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations). This wide eligibility aligns with the FOA’s emphasis on disparities, access, and real-world survivorship care challenges across different settings.

Administrative details from the source information include the agency (National Institutes of Health, with NCI as the sponsoring institute), the opportunity category (discretionary), and the original closing date listed as 2021-07-30, with a creation date of 2020-03-16. In practical terms, the opportunity is aimed at generating evidence that helps pediatric and AYA cancer survivors live healthier lives long after treatment, by improving how survivorship risks are predicted, how follow-up care is delivered and accessed, and how interventions are tailored to reduce long-term complications and inequities in outcomes.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Research to Reduce Morbidity and Improve Care for Pediatric, and Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Survivors (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.393, 93.394, 93.399.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-03-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-07-30. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for RFA CA 20 027

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