Purpose.This funding opportunity announcement (FOA), issued by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), invites applications aimed at the development of novel technologies for capturing, enriching, and preserving exfoliated abnormal cells from body fluids or effusions as well as methods for concentrating
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the tumor-derived sub-cellular material for use in biomarker studies.
In body fluids, such as sputum, exfoliated tumor cells are a minor component compared to normal cells.
As a result, the detection of exfoliated abnormal cells by routine cytopathology is often limited by the low number of atypical cells present in a given specimen.
New enrichment methods are necessary to facilitate the detection of very low levels of exfoliated tumor cells and tumor-derived sub-cellular materials in biological fluids.
Mechanism of Support.
This FOA will use the NIH Exploratory/Developmental (R21) grant mechanism.
Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards.
Because the nature and scope of the proposed research will vary from application to application, it is anticipated that the size and duration of each award will also vary.
The total amount awarded and the number of awards will depend upon the mechanism, numbers, quality, duration, and costs of the applications received.