The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has launched a new funding call for research into bone metastasis, following the identification of this area of unmet need by NCRI. The treatment of bone metastases poses a significant health and economic burden and occurs in 7 out of every 10 people with advanced cancer.
NCRI identified that there was a lack of progress being made in the understanding and management of bone metastasis. It is an area of need that cuts across many cancer types, where coordinated effort is required to improve patient outcomes.
This prompted discussions with NCRI Partner NIHR about funding a new grant call in this area. NCRI has supported NIHR in scoping the new grant call, which launched in September 2022.
Further details of the call
The grant call, commissioned as part of the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme, is interested in the evaluation of interventions related to the management of bone metastasis and skeletal related events (SREs) in patients with advanced cancer.
Examples of topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Effective treatments for bone metastasis
- Optimal timing to initiate antimetastatic therapy
- Combining antimetastatic therapy with concurrent tumour-specific standard of care
- Long-term care of patients with bone metastasis
- Management of bone-related pain in cancer patients
- Managing bone metastases and SREs in patients with comorbidities and complex needs
- Bone-targeted diagnostic measures during routine follow-up (e.g. imaging, biomarkers, liquid biopsies)
Applications must be submitted online no later than 1pm on 4 January 2023. Applications will be considered by the HTA Funding Committee at its meeting in March 2023.
Further information can be found on the NIHR website.
NCRI identifying priorities in bone metastasis research
NCRI has been working with the community to identify the issues behind the lack of progress in bone metastasis research and has initiated a project to address this area of unmet need, and support researchers in finding critical answers.
To define priorities in bone metastasis research, NCRI conducted a survey with the cancer research community to identify the most important research questions. NCRI then asked the community to complete a second survey to prioritise the research questions identified.
Get involved in NCRI’s work in bone metastasis
Working groups to address priorities in bone metastasis research are now being formed. NCRI is inviting applications to join the two NCRI Bone Metastasis working groups:
- Improving patient care in metastatic bone disease
- Preventing tumour progression to bone metastases
We are looking to appoint Deputy Chairs and Working Group Members. More information can be found on the NCRI website.
Join the NCRI Bone Metastases Network
The NCRI Bone Metastases Network is for anyone who has an interest in bone metastases research and would like to hear about various opportunities related to bone metastases.
The network is open to anyone who works within cancer research, including (but not limited to) clinicians, basic scientists, statisticians, nurses and allied health professionals and people who are not involved in cancer research but would like to be kept informed about NCRI activities.