DoD Breast Cancer Clinical Research Extension Award | HT942525BCRPCREA

DoD Breast Cancer Clinical Research Extension Award (FY25) - FAQs

What is the DoD Breast Cancer Clinical Research Extension Award (FY25)?

It is a U.S. Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP) funding opportunity intended to help existing breast cancer clinical studies produce more complete and clinically useful results. The focus is on extending or expanding work that is already underway or previously conducted, rather than primarily funding brand-new clinical trials.

What is the main purpose of this award?

The purpose is to "close the loop" on clinical studies so that the time and effort contributed by participating patients leads to stronger outcomes. This can include improving follow-up, filling gaps in data and biospecimen collection, and supporting additional analyses that increase real-world clinical impact.

Does this award fund brand-new clinical trials?

This opportunity is described as focusing on extending or expanding existing or previously conducted clinical studies, instead of primarily funding brand-new trials.

What kinds of problems is this award designed to address in clinical research?

It targets common reasons clinical studies end up underpowered or less informative than intended, including early trial termination, limited duration of patient follow-up, and gaps in sample collection or data capture.

What types of activities or projects may be supported under this mechanism?

Examples described include longer-term outcomes tracking, adding additional timepoints of data collection, completing or enhancing biospecimen acquisition, and conducting deeper or more refined analyses of existing datasets and samples.

What does "extension" or "expansion" mean in the context of this award?

Based on the description, it means adding follow-up time, adding missing data or biospecimens, and/or performing additional analyses that strengthen the clinical usefulness of an existing study, especially when important information may otherwise be lost.

Why does the program emphasize follow-up and completeness of data?

The program aims to ensure studies generate results that can inform patient care, clinical decision-making, or future trial design. Incomplete follow-up, missing data, or missing biospecimens can reduce the usefulness of findings, even when a study has already produced valuable signals.

Is alignment with FY25 BCRP overarching challenges required?

Yes. Applicants are expected to align their proposed work with at least one FY25 BCRP overarching challenge, unless they provide a well-supported justification for why an exception is warranted.

Are the FY25 BCRP overarching challenges listed in the information provided?

No. The excerpt notes the requirement to align with at least one overarching challenge, but does not include the specific list of challenges.

What is required regarding patient or consumer involvement?

The research team must include two or more breast cancer consumer advocates. Their participation is intended to ensure patient perspectives meaningfully shape the project, including relevance of the research questions, acceptability and feasibility of follow-up, and interpretation and communication of outcomes that matter to people living with and beyond breast cancer.

How many consumer advocates are required?

Two or more breast cancer consumer advocates are required as part of the research team.

What is the expected role of the consumer advocates?

The description indicates they should be involved in a formal and meaningful way, helping inform the relevance of questions, the practicality of follow-up procedures, and how outcomes are interpreted and communicated in ways that matter to patients.

Who administers this grant opportunity?

It is a discretionary grant opportunity run by the Department of the Army, U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA), within the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category.

What is the program or assistance listing identifier mentioned?

The excerpt lists CFDA 12.420.

What is the opportunity number for this grant?

The opportunity number is HT942525BCRPCREA.

What is the posting (creation) date?

The posting (creation) date is April 22, 2025.

What is the original closing date?

The original closing date is June 27, 2025.

How many awards does the notice anticipate making?

The notice anticipates making about three awards.

Is there an award ceiling listed?

No award ceiling is specified in the provided excerpt.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning the program is broadly open to applicant types unless the full solicitation includes additional limitations.

Can applications be submitted with more than one Principal Investigator (PI)?

Yes. Applications may be submitted by a single PI or through a two-PI Partnering PI Option (PPIO).

How does the two-PI Partnering PI Option (PPIO) work?

Under the PPIO model, the two PIs are designated as an Initiating PI and a Partnering PI. The Initiating PI submits the pre-application. At the full application stage, both the initiating and partnering applications must be submitted.

What happens if both parts of a partnering application are not submitted?

The solicitation emphasizes that an application can be withdrawn if both components are not submitted by the full application deadline, or if either the initiating or partnering submission is administratively withdrawn.

Why is coordination important for the partnering PI model?

Because both the initiating and partnering submissions are required at the full application stage, coordination and compliance between the two institutions or teams is essential to avoid withdrawal due to a missing or administratively withdrawn component.

What is the overall aim for clinical impact?

The stated aim is to strengthen studies so results can translate into knowledge that affects patient care, clinical decision-making, or the design of future trials, particularly when existing studies have generated promising signals but need more time, completeness, or stronger analyses.