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Affordable Cancer Technologies (ACTs) Program

The Affordable Cancer Technologies (ACTs) Program supports innovative research on key scientific issues in global cancer control and leverages unique scientific opportunities afforded by the global collaboration of NCI’s Center for Global Health (CGH).

Prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment are vital to successful cancer control.

Unfortunately, many established cancer control technologies are not suitable for use in low-resource settings, either globally or in the United States, due to expense or dependency on extensive medical infrastructure. The ACTs Program supports resource-appropriate translational technology research and development for cancer, while ensuring affordability and potential impact in low-resource settings as essential design components.

The ACTs Program develops technology through every stage, from prototype to clinical implementation studies. Technologies are validated in real-world health settings in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), leading to additional innovations. Examples of important elements include technologies that can be used by minimally trained health workers, are appropriate at the clinical point of need, or are adaptable to diverse environmental conditions and health systems.

Please note the ACTS Program does not support exploratory research.

Research Scope

The ACTs Program encourages investigators to adapt, engineer, and apply new technologies for global cancer control. All ACTs Program supported projects explicitly consider affordability and cost-effectiveness in local health settings. 

The ACTs Program requires investigators to focus on preventable and/or treatable cancers in an LMIC setting and demonstrate utility of the proposed technology to improve cancer outcomes. This requires focus on real-world implementation with critical considerations for end-user design and implementation science. 

Some examples of new technologies might include

  • platforms for risk assessment, early detection, and in vitro diagnosis (e.g., lab-on-a-chip and biosensor technologies that allow performance of chemical and biological assays outside of labs at point of care or point of need) 
  • imaging modalities (e.g., optical imaging, spectroscopy, and portable, hand-held ultrasound) 
  • treatment modalities (e.g., cryotherapy and photodynamic therapy) 
  • decision tools (e.g., machine learning and artificial intelligence, image analysis, and robotics) 

Furthermore, environmental conditions, such as heat, humidity, and erratic electricity, pose significant challenges for medical devices outside of clinical laboratory settings. ACTs-supported technologies seek to address challenges by focusing on design-supported usability at the point of need. Such characteristics include

  • ease of use (the device, technology, or assay must be suitable for use in the chosen setting by frontline health care workers or caregivers with minimal training in its operation and maintenance)
  • operability in locations with limited clinical infrastructure (e.g., limited access to electricity, landline communication, refrigeration, or central water supply) 
  • design for use at the community level or nontraditional health care settings 

Desirable attributes for ACTs technologies may also include

  • rapid results (e.g., for diagnostic technologies) 
  • risk-stratified approaches for risk assessment, early detection, or screening technologies 
  • connectivity to the internet or telephone network (e.g., for telemedicine) 
  • modular design to increase reliability and ease-of-use, and to simplify maintenance 
  • internal performance checks, self-calibration, and error diagnosis 
  • open-source hardware or software 
  • standard readily available off-the-shelf components, such as power supplies, software, or approved imaging probes 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an low- and middle-income country (LMIC)?
The NCI uses the World Bank Country and Lending Groups to categorize LMICs for potential research sites and partnerships. Each ACTs grant must propose work in at least one LMIC project site and include LMIC investigators in the key personnel.

Can I propose work in an upper-middle-income country?
While work in upper middle-income countries is permitted, it will not count towards the requirement for an LMIC project site.

Should I include LMIC site personnel in the application?
Research equity and parity in research collaboration is an essential aspect of the ACTs Program. All ACTs projects must conduct research in an LMIC and include LMIC investigators in the senior personnel. For projects including scientists in both high-income countries (HICs) and LMICs, key personnel should contribute intellectually to the development of the research proposal and planned research activities.

Does the ACTs Program support traditional hypothesis-driven research?
No. ACTs supports pragmatic translational technology research only.

What is meant by the term “technology”?
In general, technology refers to instruments, devices, platforms, tools, and associated techniques or methods.

How much emphasis does the ACTs Program place on innovation?
The ACTs Program is focused on end-user design and the development of affordable and cost-effective technologies studied in local health care settings. Innovation for this program should be demonstrated through these design components, as well as the ultimate functionality and usability of the device or assay at the point of need.

Can multiple HIC institutions be part of the application?
Yes. We recognize that multidisciplinary teams needed for a successful ACTs application may require key personnel and experts from a variety of institutions.

Can multiple LMIC institutions be part of the application?
Yes. Multisite validation requiring sites in multiple LMICs can be an important component of some ACTs projects. When including multiple LMICs, it is essential that individuals from those institutions are represented in the key personnel and contribute intellectually to the research studies. 

How should the Milestones and Timelines section of the application be structured?
ACTs applications must include a specific section labeled Milestones and Timelines as a part of the Research Strategy portion of the application. Specific aims may not be regarded as milestones (unless they include quantitative end points). Specific aims describe the goals and intended path of the research, while milestones are a way of determining whether an applicant has successfully reached the specified goals. Milestones should be clearly stated and presented in a quantitative manner (e.g., numerical specifications of sensitivity and specificity or a count of some desired detection target), and include all of the following:

  • timeline (Gantt chart) identifying milestones throughout the duration of the project is required
  • milestones are goals that create go/no-go decision points in the project and must include clear and quantitative objective criteria for success
  • annual milestones should function as indicators of a project's continued progress, revealing emergent difficulties, and will be used to evaluate the application in peer review and in consideration of continued funding for awarded projects in noncompeting award years
  • milestones should be well described, quantitative, and scientifically justified

Examples of possible milestones/quantitative performance measures:

  • detection of a targeted cancer cell in 109 normal cells
  • demonstration that the measured analyte is highly correlated (Pearson correlation coefficient r >0.95) for a cancer question in a given human biospecimen when analyzed on different days; this should include mean, standard deviation, and relative standard deviation for repeatability targets superior to next best approach (if applicable)
  • reduction of sequence read errors to one in 5,000,000 base pairs
  • demonstration that the technology gives the same result in 95 out of 100 assays
  • demonstration that the technology has >95% analytical and clinical sensitivity and specificity
  • demonstration that the technology has high positive and negative predictive value
  • demonstration that the technology can be n-fold faster, n-fold more sensitive, or n-fold more specific than the current "gold standard" technology

Applications lacking quantitative milestones, as determined by NCI program staff, will be returned to the applicant without review.

For applications including both HIC and LMIC investigators, is it expected that the HIC project director (PD) or principal investigator (PI) have worked in an LMIC?
No. Previous work in LMICs is not expected for the HIC PD/PI in applications including both HIC and LMIC investigators. Nevertheless, in such instances, evidence of past collaborations will strengthen the application.

What is the impact of 2 CFR 200.216 (prohibition on certain telecommunication and video surveillance services or equipment) on international collaborations and direct foreign awards?
NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-21-041 summarizes new requirements for grant and contact recipients regarding use of federal funds prohibited for telecommunications providers. Please also refer to the FAQs for the guide notice and the Office of Management and Budget FAQs on these requirements.

For all awards at NIH, please note the following points:

  • This requirement applies to grants and contracts and both direct and indirect costs.
  • A grantee can use a prohibited provider as part of their grant; however, they cannot use NIH or US government funds to pay for their services or equipment. Grantee organizations must rebudget funds accordingly.
  • There is no waiver process, nor exemptions or exceptions.

Who can apply to this request for applications (RFA)? Are industry applicants welcome? Are foreign institutions eligible?
Eligibility is addressed in Section III of the funding opportunity announcement (FOA). Eligibility is inclusive of applications from industry and foreign institutions.

What is the guidance for travel expenses?
Please refer to the Travel Expense Guidance from the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Is new technology development allowed or encouraged?
Investigators are required to adapt, apply, and/or engineer an existing prototype or existing device, assay, or treatment for use in a low-resource setting. Projects making use of technologies for which an initial proof-of-concept has not already been demonstrated in cancer-relevant biological system or technologies not ready for advanced development and validation without substantial further developmental efforts are not responsive to this RFA.

Are technologies that have been commercialized eligible? 
Investigators are required to adapt, apply, and/or engineer an existing prototype or existing device/assay/treatment for use in a low-resource setting. This may include devices that have already been commercialized.

Can you comment on level of validation required for something to “count” as a validated biomarker?
Validation data should be sufficient to convince a peer review panel that the proposed translational technology research with the device or assay can go forward without the need for additional validation of new biomarkers.

What is the expectation for showing path to future commercialization, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance, etc.? Is a detailed plan expected or a high-level approach?
Because this initiative is translational in nature and the goal of the program is ultimately high uptake of interventions in the community, addressing the path to commercialization and regulatory clearances is valuable and will be considered at a high level by reviewers, but this program will ultimately be primarily judged on the core design and engineering components of the project as well as the clinical validation studies in LMICs, not on proposed commercially driven activities.

Do applicants have to address FDA Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) requirements even though work is taking place at foreign sites? Is demonstration of regulatory approvals in the LMIC setting sufficient?
This is project-specific and should be discussed with local institutional review boards (IRBs), regulatory agencies, and key stakeholders. The ACTs-supported technology must comply with the applicable regulations and international standards/guidelines (such as Good Laboratory Practice (GLP), Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), WHO guidelines, FDA Investigational New Drug (IND), FDA Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) or local regulations in LMICs).

Program Management

The ACTs Program management team includes representatives from many divisions, offices, and centers of NCI. The transdivisional, interdisciplinary nature of the management team is a unique feature and strength of the ACTs Program that promotes a more consolidated and balanced representation of technology interests and needs across NCI.

Division, Office, or Center Representative(s) Email
Center for Global Health Paul C. Pearlman, Ph.D. paul.pearlman@nih.gov
Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences Rao L. Divi, Ph.D. divir@mail.nih.gov
Division of Cancer Prevention Jacob Kagan, Ph.D. kaganj@mail.nih.gov
Christos Patriotis, Ph.D. patriotisc@mail.nih.gov
Jo Ann Rinaudo, Ph.D. rinaudoj@mail.nih.gov
Matthew Young, Ph.D. youngma@mail.nih.gov
Vikrant Sahasrabuddhe, M.B.B.S., M.PH., Dr.P.H. sahasrabuddhevv@mail.nih.gov
Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis Biorepositories & Biospecimen Research
Lokesh Agrawal, Ph.D.
lokesh.agrawal@nih.gov
Diagnostic Biomarkers & Technology
Miguel R. Ossandon, Ph.D.
Brian Sorg, Ph.D., M.B.A.
ossandom@mail.nih.gov
brian.sorg@nih.gov
Cancer Imaging
Houston Baker, Ph.D.
Pushpa Tandon, Ph.D.
hb4s@nih.gov
tandonp@mail.nih.gov
Radiation Oncology
Bhadrasain Vikram, M.D.
Vikramb@mail.nih.gov
Office of HIV and AIDS Malignancy Rebecca Liddell Huppi, Ph.D. liddellr@exchange.nih.gov
Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities Tiffany Wallace, Ph.D. wallaceti@mail.nih.gov
Center for Strategic Scientific Initiatives Tony Dickherber, Ph.D. dickherberaj@mail.nih.gov
SBIR Development Center Ming Zhao, Ph.D. zhaoming3@mail.nih.gov

Previously Funded Awards

Click on any project title for a more detailed description of the project. For a list of CGH's current funding opportunities, visit Funding for Global Research and Training.

Year Award Type FOA Title PI/Project Leader Institution
2022 U01 RFA-CA-21-030 Rapid Sample-to-Answer Diagnosis of Kaposi's Sarcoma Across Sub-Saharan Africa using KS-COMPLETE ERICKSON, DAVID, CARL CORNELL UNIVERSITY
2022 U01 RFA-CA-21-030 Adapting a point of use test card, the chemoPAD, for protecting chemotherapy drug quality in sub-Saharan Africa LIEBERMEN, MARYA UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME
2022 U01 RFA-CA-21-030 ARCHERY: Artificial Intelligence based Radiotherapy treatment planning for Cervical and Head and Neck cancer AGGARWAL, AJAY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LONDON
2022 U01 RFA-CA-21-030 KeyScope: The Key to Sustainable Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment in Uganda FITZGERALD, TAMARA DUKE UNIVERSITY
2022 U01 RFA-CA-21-030 Development and Validation of an Artificial-Intelligence-enabled Portable Colposcopy Device for Optimizing Triage Alternatives for HPV-based Cervical Cancer Screening RAMANUJAM, NIRMALA DUKE UNIVERSITY
2022 U01 RFA-CA-21-030 An AI-enabled Digital Pathology Platform for Multi-Cancer Diagnosis, Prognosis and Prediction of Therapeutic Benefit MADABHUSHI, ANANT EMORY UNIVERSITY
2022 U01 RFA-CA-21-030 Low-Cost CRISPR-on-Paper for Cervical Cancer Screening at the Point of Care LIU, CHANGCHUN UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
2020 R43 PAR-18-801 Optimizing delivery of ethyl cellulose ethanol for ablation of cervical precancer ASIEDU, MERCY NYAMEWAA CALLA HEALTH FOUNDATION
2020 R41 PAR-18-802 Serum Detection of Medulloblastoma Metastasis LI, YUANCHENG 5M BIOMED, LLC
2020 R41 PAR-18-802 Clinical Cytophone platform for detection of circulating melanoma cells SUEN, JAMES CYTOASTRA, LLC
2019 R44 PAR-18-801 Innovations in cervical cancer diagnosis for low resource settings using advanced optical imaging and machine learning diagnostic algorithms JUNKER, MARLEE CALLA HEALTH FOUNDATION
2019 R43 PAR-18-801 Broad Spectrum Thermostable Single dose Papillomavirus-like Particles (VLP) for the prevention of all HPV-associated cancers WANG, JOSHUA WEIYUAN PATHOVAX, LLC
2019 R41 PAR-18-802 Identifying hereditary cancer patients in low-resource community cancer settings using an innovative informatics solution WELCH, BRANDON M ITRUNSINMYFAMILY.COM, INC.
2019 R44 PAR-18-801 Practical Implementation of an Ultra-rapid FLASH Radiation Therapy Linac Beamline BHARADWAJ, VINOD TIBARAY, INC.
2017 UG3 RFA-CA-15-024 Field-deployable platform for prognostic hepatic cancer screening in low-resource settings PORTER, MARC D UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
2017 UG3/UH3 RFA-CA-15-024 Facile screening for esophageal cancer in LMICs MELTZER, STEPHEN J JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
2017 UG3/UH3 RFA-CA-15-024 Digital PCR quantification of BCR-ABL for CML diagnosis and monitoring in a LMICs setting CHIU, DANIEL T UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
2017 UG3/UH3 RFA-CA-15-024 Rapid Point of Care Detection of HPV-Associated Malignancies ANDERSON, KAREN S ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY-TEMPE CAMPUS
2017 UG3/UH3 RFA-CA-15-024 Smartphone Enabled Point-of-Care Detection of Serum Markers of Liver Cancer CHILKOTI, ASHUTOSH DUKE UNIVERSITY
2017 UG3/UH3 RFA-CA-15-024 A cost-effective radiation treatment delivery system for the low- and middle-income countries FORD, ERIC C UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
2017 UG3/UH3 RFA-CA-15-024 Point of care, real-time urine metabolomics test to diagnose colorectal cancers and polyps in low- and middle-income countries KINGHAM, T PETER SLOAN-KETTERING INST CAN RESEARCH
2016 UH2/UH3 RFA-CA-15-001 The Radiation Planning Assistant (RPA) for Radiation Therapy Planning in Low- and Middle-Income Countries COURT, LAURENCE E UNIVERSITY OF TX MD ANDERSON CAN CTR
2016 UH2/UH3 RFA-CA-15-001 Early Stage Diagnosis of Kaposi's Sarcoma in Limited Resource Settings using KS-Detect ERICKSON, DAVID CARL CORNELL UNIVERSITY
2016 UH2/UH3 RFA-CA-15-001 Cytology-Free POC Cervical Cancer Diagnostics for Global Health WEIDEMAIER, KRISTIN BECTON, DICKINSON AND COMPANY
2016 UH2/UH3 RFA-CA-15-001 Smartphone for molecular cancer diagnostic in Africa WEISSLEDER, RALPH MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
2016 UH2/UH3 RFA-CA-15-001 Low-cost Mobile Oral Cancer Screening for Low Resource Setting LIANG, RONGGUANG UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
2016 UH2/UH3 RFA-CA-15-001 Development and clinical validation of a multi-type HPV E6/E7 oncoprotein test for cervical cancer screening and triage in low- and middle-income countries HERRERO, ROLANDO INTERNATIONAL AGENCY FOR RES ON CANCER
2016 UH2/UH3 RFA-CA-15-001 Development, field testing and evaluation of the efficacy of a hand-held, portable and affordable thermo-coagulator to prevent cervical cancer in low- and middle-income countries SANKARANARAYANAN, RENGASWAMY INTERNATIONAL AGENCY FOR RES ON CANCER
2014 UH2/UH3 RFA-CA-13-015 Low Cost Automated Ultrasound for Breast Cancer Detection and Diagnosis LOVE, SUSAN M DR. SUSAN LOVE RESEARCH FOUNDATION
2014 UH2/UH3 RFA-CA-13-015 Improving specificity of HPV Screen-and-Treat in South Africa KUHN, LOUISE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES
2014 UH2 RFA-CA-13-015 Active Viral Hepatitis Diagnostics to Support Prevention/Treatment of HCC MURPHY, ROBERT L NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
2014 UH2/UH3 RFA-CA-13-015 Performance, safety, and efficacy of a new cyrotherapy device for cervical dyspla ANDERSON, JEAN JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
2014 UH2/UH3 RFA-CA-13-015 Low-cost Enabling Technology for Image-guided Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) of Oral HASAN, TAYYABA MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
2014 UH2/UH3 RFA-CA-13-015 Point-of-Care Diagnostic Tools to Improve Global Cervical Cancer Control Programs SCHMELER, KATHLEEN RICE UNIVERSITY
2014 UH2/UH3 RFA-CA-13-015 CryoPen: An Innovative Treatment for Cervical Precancer in Low-Resource Setting CREMER, MIRIAM CLEVELAND CLINIC LERNER COM-CWRU

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