The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has announced a funding opportunity for a single-source cooperative agreement to the American College of Radiology (ACR) under the National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) for the establishment of a Network Radiotherapy and Imaging Core Services Center. This award, funded through RFA-CA-24-034, is intended to support radiotherapy and imaging services essential for clinical trials within the NCTN and other NCI-supported clinical trial programs, such as the NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) and the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (DCTD) early phase trials. The Center will provide scientific and technical expertise for quality assurance, data management, and integrated imaging for trials involving radiotherapy or imaging interventions.

The ACR will be awarded up to $8.14 million annually in direct costs for a six-year period, totaling approximately $8.8 million annually, beginning in December 2025. The Radiotherapy and Imaging Core Services Center will focus on three main components: (1) radiotherapy core services to support NCTN trials involving radiotherapy interventions; (2) imaging core services for trials with imaging data requirements; and (3) collaborations and participation in the broader NCTN management and support of additional NCI clinical trial programs. Each component will involve services such as quality assurance, credentialing, imaging data management, and ensuring interoperability and standardization across trial sites.

This cooperative agreement aligns with NCTN’s goal of facilitating multi-center, late-phase clinical treatment trials in oncology by streamlining operational requirements for radiotherapy and imaging, supporting trial consistency and quality, and enhancing data management through a centralized infrastructure. The NCTN includes groups across the U.S. and internationally, targeting diverse patient populations and special groups such as children and underserved communities, which allows for broader participation and data collection essential for precision medicine. In addition to trial operations, the Center will participate in the collective management of the NCTN and will support interactions with NCI programs such as the Cancer Trials Support Unit and the Central Institutional Review Board.

Eligible applicants for this opportunity are limited to the ACR, and it must complete required registrations in SAM, eRA Commons, and Grants.gov. The application must include detailed budgets, a project strategy, and organizational structures that demonstrate the Center’s capability to meet rigorous NCTN requirements. Applications are due by February 24, 2025, and require adherence to NIH’s updated FORMS-I instructions. A letter of intent is encouraged but not required, and potential applicants should contact the designated NCI program officials for guidance.

Reviewers will assess applications based on the project’s significance, investigator expertise, innovation, approach, and environment. Emphasis will be on the Center’s capacity to provide robust and interoperable IT networks, data security, and infrastructure for quality assurance, as well as the ability to meet NCTN’s standards for radiotherapy and imaging services. The review process includes scoring across these criteria and is managed by NCI peer review groups.

Upon award, the NCI will actively engage with the ACR in project activities, ensuring alignment with federal guidelines and collaboration on scientific opportunities. The ACR will retain rights to data generated, subject to federal access policies, and must submit annual progress reports. Key dates include submission deadlines in early 2025 and a project start date in late 2025, pending completion of the review and approval process.