Clinical therapy studies in cancer

Objectives

The Swedish Cancer Society supports research whose aims align with the Society’s vision: that fewer people should be affected by cancer, more people should be cured, and those who cannot be cured should be able to live long and high quality lives.

In Sweden, many scientific, translational and clinical studies are conducted that lead to opportunities to develop new therapeutic methods.

However, clinical therapy studies are costly, and in Sweden funding for them has been increasingly difficult to obtain. The number of patients who are offered participation in such studies is currently too low.

The Swedish Cancer Society hereby announces one or more major grants of SEK 3-10 million per year, up to a maximum of SEK 30 million in total, lasting 3-5 years, for " Clinical therapy studies in cancer".

This research area includes studies that aim to prospectively recruit patients for cancer treatment, including various therapy modalities and combinations thereof, as well as treatment studies in nursing science, palliative care and rehabilitation.

This includes, for example, academically initiated phase I/II studies, implementation studies, and randomized intervention studies.

This funding does not cover studies that have been initiated and financed by companies or industry. It also does not cover projects that mainly concern primary prevention or diagnostics.

The call is aimed at clinical therapy studies that are carried out in Sweden. Swedish participation in international studies can also be considered.

Practical information

Formal eligibility requirements

The application must be made by an individual researcher (principal investigator, PI). The applicant must be an experienced research leader, have been awarded their doctorate no later than 31st December 2018, and be able to demonstrate documented independence and competence in leading scientific projects.

The application may involve one or more individual research groups, but the Research Committee will give special weight to applications that involve several different groups, institutions, regions or disciplines.

The Swedish Cancer Society pays research grants only to Swedish educational institutions. Project funds are granted as framework grants and can be used for personnel, operating and other ancillary costs (such as equipment) specified in the project budget.

Funds may not be used for salaries for permanent lecturers or professors. In order to apply for and receive grants for clinical therapy studies in cancer, the applicant must be employed at a Swedish educational establishment or healthcare institution with a salary corresponding to at least 20% of full-time employment. This employment must already have started at the time of application. If you only have a position at a healthcare institution, it is required to have an affiliation with a Swedish university, which must be approved by the head of department signing the application.

Applicants who have retired from a Swedish university are not subject to the 20% employment requirement, but affiliation with a Swedish higher education institution must be confirmed by the Head of Department signing the application.

This call is open both to researchers who have not previously been supported by the Swedish Cancer Society, and to those who hold a regular Swedish Cancer Society project grant and plan to submit an application for a continuation grant during the period 2024–2026.

Researchers with ongoing grants must clearly describe how the application in this special call relates to and potentially overlaps with the ongoing or requested regular project, in terms of both science and budget.

The research program must then include a section that describes how this special grant application differs from the research program in the regular application round (for example completely new question/patient group/treatment modality, or distinct expansion of the project applied for in the regular application round).

Grant period

The grant period for Clinical treatment studies is 1st January-31st December. The project can be granted for three to five years. The period of performance is the grant period plus a further 12 months.

Basis for assessment

Applications will be assessed on the basis of scientific quality, innovation and originality, the applicant's merits, the feasibility of the study and the significance for cancer patients.

The size of the grant

Project grants are awarded as framework grants for personnel and operating costs. The grant may be used as a grant for scholarships, doctoral positions, etc., according to local regulations at each institution.

Please note that the grant may not be used for the applicant's own salary or for the salary of a permanently employed senior lecturer or professor.

The Swedish Cancer Society awards grants only to Swedish universities and higher educational institutions.

The Swedish Cancer Society approves deductions for overhead costs up to a maximum of 15.25% of the grant.

When confirming the application, the Head of Department's signature guarantees co-financing of the project, in case the above deductions are insufficient.

Patient perspective

Many of the projects supported by the Swedish Cancer Society either take advantage of patients' experiences, or lead to knowledge that can affect patients. If your project belongs to this category, you need to indicate whether the patient perspective has been taken into account and, if so, in which way.

There is a specifically designated box for such description in the application process, under the heading “patient perspective”.

Examples can be that patients have been involved in the planning of a clinical study, that there has been a discussion with patients in the development of the research program, that the research project is based on patient contacts, or that the project has otherwise considered the family/patient perspective in its design.

There are co-opted patients in some of the Swedish Cancer Society's assessment panels.

If you consider that the patient perspective is not relevant to your project or the development of your research program, you should justify this in the designated box as well.

To apply

Ho to apply in Fenix

If you already have an account you can log in to Fenix

If you don’t have an account, you need to create an account in Fenix

More information on how to apply in Fenix

The following headings are based on the application process in Fenix:

Applicant

In this tab you need to fill in general information about yourself as an applicant.

This is, for example, your name, date of birth and current employment. 

Organisation

In this tab you need to fill in information about your university, department and Head of department.

The Swedish Cancer Society pays research grants only to Swedish universities.

The Swedish Cancer Society approves deductions for overhead costs with a maximum of 15.25 % of the grant. By signing the application the Head of department guarantees co-financing of the project if the above deductions prove to be insufficient.

CV

In this tab you need to fill in your CV and attach a list of publications and other merits. All attachments must be attached as pdf.

Appendices

• Publication list of your 10 most relevant articles for this application with full reference. The list should be arranged: author, title of the work, name of the publication, volume, page, year (attached as PDF)
• Max 3 x unpublished manuscripts with original data (as PDF attachment).
• Full publication list. The list should be arranged: author, title of the work, name of the publication, volume, page, year. The publication list should be listed in three categories: peer reviewed original publications, reviewed articles and other articles (attached as PDF).

Project information

In this tab you fill in everything related to your project, for example your research program, study protocol (optional) and patient perspective.

The research program must be written in English and may comprise a maximum of ten pages including references (12pt, single line spacing, 2.5 cm margin).

The following is the recommended outline:

• Specific objectives
  A brief account of the aim and specific goals of the proposed research work. Clarify the main research question and the primary clinically relevant outcome variable.
• Background
  The summary should reflect the current state of clinical knowledge and practice within the research field, ongoing clinical studies and identified knowledge gaps. Summarize your own and others' results in the research area. It should be clarified in what way the planned study builds upon existing knowledge and research. If the applied for project is closely linked to a project already supported by the Swedish Cancer Society, the project description must state in what way the project scientifically overlaps with, or is an extension of, the already funded project.
• Work plan and preliminary results
  Detailed description of hypotheses and planned work. Describe the design for each substudy/question and justify why the proposed research design is the most appropriate to answer the question. For intervention studies, all treatments that are studied and compared must be described in detail regarding e.g. type(s) of treatment, dosage, follow-up times, evaluation, etc. The plan of work should also include a description of methodology, stating the composition of the patient groups, inclusion and exclusion criteria, etc.
  
  Primary and secondary outcome measures should be specified where applicable. Translational parts of the project should be described and justified so that it is clear how they strengthen the project.
  
  Describe the basic equipment that you and your group have at your disposal for the project. Any preliminary results are of great importance. State clearly how the researchers/research groups participating in the project will work together to achieve the desired result and how the management of the project will be organized. The research program must contain a timetable with milestones.
• Significance
  Brief account of the expected significance for cancer research.  Indicate how the project can contribute to the development of collaboration between disciplines, groups and/or researchers that can lead to cross-fertilization between different therapeutic areas. Indicate the way(s) in which the project can contribute to Swedish clinical therapy studies from a short and long term perspective.
• Literature references
  Author, title of work, publication name and year of publication. Include only the absolutely essential references.

Collaborator and research group structure

When applying for a “Clinical Treatment Studies in Cancer” project, a description of collaborators and key people related to the project is mandatory.

The purpose of this description, which must include name, affiliation, expertise and role within the project, is to provide an overview of all participants in the project and their skills and special areas of responsibility.

In the case of large multicenter studies, the names of all participants do not need to be entered, but which centers and which key persons are participating should be described. Note that the call is aimed at treatment studies that are carried out in Sweden. However, Swedish participation in international studies can also be considered.

Ethical approval, ethical considerations, biobank approval, approval by the Swedish Medical Products Agency, and the like

Here the applicant must state whether the project has received ethical approval, or whether such an application has been submitted. If not, the plan for applying for ethical approval must be described.

Where applicable, the same information must also be stated for biobanks authorization, as well as authorization from the Swedish Medical Products Agency, the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority, etc.

Briefly explain which ethical considerations may come into question.

Risk management

Describe any risks to the feasibility of the project or other potential obstacles, e.g. permits, recruitment of patients or other matters that may affect the project. Describe a plan to manage these risks.

Data management plan

Describe the data management plan for data generated within the research project. Your administrating organisation should also confirm that a data management plan is in place when you start your project and that the plan will be maintained.

Statistical considerations

Here the applicant should explain such matters as the size of the patient groups and any control groups, predictions of the test’s power, statistical analysis methods, etc.

Popular scientific description

If your application will be granted, this text will be published at our website: www.cancerfonden.se and can be read by people who donate to the Swedish Cancer Society.

Therefore, write as easily understandable and concise as possible.

The text must be in Swedish and a maximum of 650 characters per question/section.

Your text will not be edited. It will be published as you write it.

1. A title that is easy to understand. 
2. The background of the project.
3. What is the project about? Describe, for example, what cancer diseases are being studied, what treatment it is about, whether it is in diagnostics, epidemiology, prevention or care of cancer patients, or whether it is about how cancer arises. 
4. What do you hope to achieve with your research?
5. A very brief summary for those who quickly want to know what the project is about. 

Statistics

In order for the Swedish Cancer Society to be able to keep statistics on what is being researched, here you need to indicate what proportion of the project relates to which research area.

Grants

Here you enter all of your ongoing research grants, as well as those you have applied for, from both the Swedish Cancer Society and other research funding bodies.

Applicants holding grants from, or having appointments at, the tobacco industry can not apply or be awarded financing from the Swedish Cancer Society.

The Swedish Cancer Society attaches considerable importance to ensuring that project applications contain accurate budget information.

A complete picture of all the applicants' grants relating to the project applied for, and any other funding is important both for assessing the project's chances of successful implementation and in calculating the need for funding.

Please note that applications with incomplete financial statements may be rejected because the information is insufficient to enable a decision to be made.

Preview (and signing)

In this tab, a preview of your application is shown. You can, for example, see if there is any missing information. If the application is filled in correctly, you can start the signing process by first sending it to your Head of department.

When the Head of the department has signed the application you need to sign it before submitting the application.

Signing your application

If the application is filled in correctly, you can start the signing process by first sending it to your Head of department. When the Head of the department has signed the application you need to sign it before submitting the application.

At the bottom of the page, you click "Request signing/Be om signering". This sends the application to your Head of department, who receives it and signs it digitally with BankID.

Note that if you make changes to the application after sending it to the Head of department for signing, you must send a new request for signing by your Head of department, as the application has changed. This applies regardless of what changes have been made.

When the Head of department has signed the application digitally with BankID, you as the applicant will receive an email. You can then log in and sign the application digitally with BankID.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION: The latest date and time for submitting your application can be found at the top of this page.

Make sure that you allow enough time for your application to be signed by your Head of department and then for you as the applicant to sign and submit the application before the call closes.

Note that if you make changes to the application after sending it to the Head of department for signing, you must send a new request for signing by your Head of department, as the application has changed.

This applies regardless of what changes have been made.

Use of personal data

Read more about the Swedish Cancer Society's handling of personal data in the Swedish Cancer Society's privacy policy (in Swedish).