DoD Peer Reviewed Cancer, Patient Well-Being and Survivorship Award | HT942524PRCRPPWSA

Opportunity Information: Apply for HT942524PRCRPPWSA

The DoD Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP) Patient Well-Being and Survivorship Award (PWSA) is a Department of the Army (USAMRAA) grant opportunity designed to fund innovative, patient-centered cancer research that directly improves how people live during and after cancer. The program focuses on survivorship gaps that are often under-addressed in traditional cancer research, especially the day-to-day realities of physical function, quality of life, symptom burden, psychosocial strain, and cognitive challenges that can follow diagnosis and treatment. Projects must align with at least one FY24 PRCRP Topic Area and must address one or more core issues such as preservation of physical function, symptom management, resilience, neurocognitive deficits, decision-making, and psychosocial support for patients and those close to them (including family members and caregivers).

A major emphasis of this award is impact on real-world outcomes. The PWSA is not meant for incremental work or purely exploratory ideas without a clear pathway to changing care or survivorship outcomes. Applicants are expected to show how their study could meaningfully transform patient well-being in a way that connects back to one or more FY24 PRCRP Topic Areas. The intent is to push research that challenges existing assumptions about survivorship and patient care, and to speed the movement of promising approaches into settings that can affect clinical practice. The mechanism allows for translational or clinical research, including pilot clinical trials, as long as the work remains clearly tied to patient well-being and survivorship improvements rather than basic disease biology.

The types of projects that fit well under this opportunity include studies on maintaining or restoring function, improving quality of life and emotional well-being, and reducing symptoms across the full cancer experience, from active treatment through long-term survivorship. Competitive applications may examine topics like treatment toxicity and supportive care strategies, psychological distress and anxiety, palliative or supportive care interventions, educational or decision-support tools, and approaches that address cognitive issues linked to cancer or its therapies. The opportunity also encourages research on how behavioral and social functioning relates to cancer initiation, progression, detection, treatment, and rehabilitation, including studies aimed at improving mental health and cancer-related outcomes in defined populations. The overarching theme is evidence-based, patient-relevant interventions and surveillance methods that can identify psychosocial outcomes and improve survivorship care.

The PWSA expects applicants to present a clear, well-justified study design. Proposals must spell out the overall architecture of the research approach, whether it is interventional, descriptive, correlational, field experimental, retrospective or prospective, or even a meta-analysis. Study populations must be clearly defined, and the design must be supported with an appropriate statistical rationale that matches the research question. If questionnaires or survey tools are used, they need to be described in enough detail to support how results will be interpreted and why the measures are appropriate for the target population and outcomes. In other words, reviewers are looking for studies that are not only meaningful, but also methodologically strong and interpretable.

Preliminary data expectations depend on whether the project includes active recruitment of human subjects. If an application proposes prospective recruitment for a pilot clinical trial, preliminary data are required. For studies that do not involve active recruitment, preliminary data are not strictly required, but the proposal still needs a strong foundation, supported by solid reasoning and relevant literature, to show the approach is credible and likely to yield informative results.

A distinctive and non-negotiable element of this award is patient advocate participation. Every application must include at least one cancer patient advocate as an integral member of the research team, not as a symbolic addition. The advocate should be connected to a cancer advocacy organization, knowledgeable about current cancer issues, and aligned with the FY24 PRCRP Topic Area(s) being studied. The advocate can be someone living with cancer, a survivor with no evidence of disease, or a family member/caregiver. Their involvement is expected to be active and continuous across planning and implementation, including shaping the research question, influencing study design, participating in oversight, and contributing to evaluation and interpretation. The program explicitly signals that periodic attendance at meetings is not enough; the advocate role should be embedded into the project so that patient priorities and practical impact remain central throughout.

Just as important as what the PWSA funds is what it does not fund. Basic laboratory studies are considered outside the scope of this mechanism and may be withdrawn from consideration. The same applies to studies using animal models, which are not supported under this opportunity. The award is oriented toward human-relevant survivorship research and patient well-being outcomes, with a clear line of sight to improving care, services, or support systems.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant (CFDA 12.420) offered by the Department of the Army via USAMRAA under the PRCRP. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted. The opportunity number is HT942524PRCRPPWSA, with an original closing date of July 26, 2024. The anticipated number of awards is six, and the award ceiling is not specified in the provided source details.

• The Dept. of the Army -- USAMRAA in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "DoD Peer Reviewed Cancer, Patient Well-Being and Survivorship Award" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.420.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-05-01.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-07-26. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

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