PAR-25-104
Cancer Prevention and Control Clinical Trials Planning Grant Program (R34 Clinical Trials Optional)
Summary
Cancer Prevention and Control Clinical Trials Planning Grant Program (R34)
Research Focus
This program supports planning and feasibility studies that address critical information gaps before launching full-scale cancer prevention and control clinical trials. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) seeks applications that will generate data necessary to finalize trial protocols, test study designs, and reduce operational risks—rather than collect preliminary efficacy data. Applicants must have existing preliminary efficacy or effectiveness evidence for their proposed intervention and use the planning phase to resolve unknowns about study populations, recruitment strategies, intervention adaptation, outcome measurement, statistical assumptions, or implementation feasibility. Research spans the cancer prevention and control spectrum: cancer prevention and interception (nutritional compounds, drugs, vaccines, preventive surgery), screening and early detection, behavioral interventions (tobacco, obesity, physical activity, alcohol, UV exposure, vaccine uptake), implementation science, healthcare delivery models, cancer survivorship, supportive and palliative care, and quality of life. Pilot or feasibility trials are permitted if essential to project goals.
At a Glance
- Who can apply: Institutions eligible for NIH research grants; applicants must have preliminary efficacy/effectiveness data for the proposed future trial.
- Funding & project length: Not stated (see NIH R34 standard rates); planning period typically 2 years.
- Award / mechanism: R34 Planning Grant (not R21; cannot support preliminary efficacy collection).
- Key dates: Open January 25, 2025; rolling due dates (February 25, June 25, October 25); earliest start December 2025 (for Feb 25 submission).
- Best fit for: Cancer prevention, control, and survivorship researchers with preliminary data ready to design rigorous multi-site Phase II+ trials; teams needing feasibility, accrual, or implementation data before full-scale launch.
Key Facts
Deadline
Mon, October 25, 2027
Posted
Tue, November 5, 2024
Award / Year (direct costs)
$275,000
Max Total
$550,000
Max Duration
2 years
Keywords
Research Areas
Gotchas (5)
R34 mechanism explicitly cannot be used to collect preliminary efficacy/effectiveness data; this data must already exist at application time. Applications proposing to generate the preliminary data ju
95%
Source Text
“Unlike the R21 mechanism that is intended to obtain data that will support a future R01 grant, the R34 mechanism cannot be used for the collection of preliminary efficacy or effectiveness data to support the rationale for the subsequent clinical trial.”
Applications that are first-in-human studies are explicitly non-responsive and will not be reviewed, even if they meet other criteria.
98%
Source Text
“Applications with the following attributes will be deemed non-responsive and will not be reviewed: Applications that are first-in-human studies.”
Applications that only propose to write a protocol, develop infrastructure, or implement an already fully designed trial are non-responsive. This excludes pure planning/protocol development without em
97%
Source Text
“Applications that only propose to write a protocol or manual, develop infrastructure, or implement an already fully designed trial.”
Applications containing purely mechanistic work or animal studies are non-responsive. This is a hard scope boundary that excludes translational research phases.
96%
Source Text
“Applications that include purely mechanistic work or contain animal studies.”
The FOA was updated March 31, 2025 to align with agency priorities, and applicants are explicitly warned to 'carefully reread the full funding opportunity' and make adjustments. This suggests substant
85%
Source Text
“This funding opportunity was updated to align with agency priorities. Carefully reread the full funding opportunity and make any needed adjustments to your application prior to submission.”