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Accelerating Hope: Clinical Trials for Hard-to-Treat Cancers

Children's Cancer Research Fund

Children’s Cancer Research Fund (CCRF) is a national nonprofit committed to finding safer, more effective therapies for kids battling cancer. Thanks to donors and partners around the country, we have contributed more than $235 million to research, education and awareness, and quality-of-life programs for childhood cancer families. We believe kids deserve safer, less toxic treatments, and we’re committed to funding groundbreaking research and services that enhance long-term healing and care for all.

This grant mechanism is limited to support for clinical trials focused on hard-to-treat cancers. For this funding opportunity, hard-to-treat cancer is defined as 5-year survival less than 70% in an individual childhood cancer (e.g. osteosarcoma, AML, DIPG), in a childhood cancer with unfavorable behavior (e.g. relapse or metastasis), or in a molecular defined subtype (e.g. MLL rearranged leukemia, PAX3-FOXO1 rearranged RMS). Cancers with survival <70% in demographic groups defined by age, sex, or race/ethnicity may also qualify if a biologic hypothesis is being pursued. Applicants must demonstrate that the cancer(s) they propose to study is consistent with this definition of "hard-to-treat" and with the scientific literature.

Award Information

Number of Awards Funding of awards will be dependent on the availability of funds.

Award Period Maximum project period is 36 months.

Award Budget Total costs of up to $1,000,000 may be requested. The budget total includes indirect costs of up to 10% of direct costs.

Allowable direct costs include:

Salaries, fringe benefits, supplies, sub-contracts, equipment, publication costs, and travel expenses.

• Salary Cap: Budgets created for CCRF funding should adopt the NIH salary cap (currently $225,700). A salary cap is defined as a maximum annual rate of salary for a full-time effort that can be charged to an award.

• Travel: project-related travel allowed as needed (must be fully justified); up to $2,000 per year for conference travel.

• All sub-contracts and collaborations must be described and well-justified.

• Any equipment to be purchased with grant funds must be well-justified

AI Based Application Success Predictor

1. Strong, Explicit Focus on Pediatric Cancer

CCRF exclusively funds childhood, adolescent, and young-adult cancers.
Funded proposals almost always:

Target pediatric malignancies directly (leukemia, brain tumors, sarcomas, neuroblastoma, rare pediatric cancers, survivorship).

Address mechanisms, diagnostics, treatment resistance, survivorship, or quality of life specifically in children.

Include age-appropriate models (pediatric cell lines, mouse models, patient-derived xenografts, registry data).

Predictor: The proposal must be clearly pediatric-focused, not repurposed adult oncology work.

2. Fit With the Correct CCRF Mechanism

Each CCRF program serves a specific purpose:

🔹 Emerging Scientist Award

Supports early-career investigators (<7 years from faculty appointment).

Emphasizes innovation + independence development.

🔹 Acceleration Initiative

Large, multi-year, high-impact collaborative projects.

Prioritizes collaborative teams + transformative potential.

🔹 Quality-of-Life / Survivorship Studies

Focus on survivorship outcomes, late effects, psychosocial health.

🔹 Special Topic Calls

Sometimes target rare cancers, high-need diseases, or specific biological pathways.

Predictor: Align your career stage, project scope, and budget with the specific award type.

3. High Innovation + High Potential Impact

CCRF consistently funds projects that push boundaries, such as:

Novel therapeutic targets

Pediatric-specific immunotherapies

Epigenetic or metabolic vulnerabilities

Advanced omics, AI, or computational tools

Precision medicine approaches

Projects addressing rare or aggressive childhood cancers

Predictor: Emphasize novelty, “next-step” potential, and clinical or scientific impact.

4. Strong Preliminary Data (Even for Early-Career Awards)

Winning CCRF proposals typically show:

Pilot data supporting feasibility

A validated assay/model

A logical progression from preliminary findings to proposed aims

Predictor: Preliminary data that demonstrates feasibility and promise is one of the strongest predictors of success.

5. Clear, Focused, Milestone-Driven Aims

Successful CCRF applications feature:

2–3 tightly defined Specific Aims

Strong hypotheses

Realistic timelines (usually 1–2 years)

Defined milestones and measurable outcomes

Clear path to next-stage grant funding (NIH, foundations, consortium funding)

Predictor: Reviewers reward clarity and feasibility.

6. Strong Mentorship, Environment & Institutional Support

Especially for early-career awards, CCRF prioritizes:

A committed mentor with pediatric oncology expertise

An institutional letter guaranteeing protected research time

Access to required core facilities (sequencing, imaging, bioinformatics, PDX models)

Support for long-term career development in pediatric cancer research

Predictor: Strong mentorship + infrastructure is critical for early-career applicants.

7. Relevance to CCRF Priority Areas (Historical & Ongoing)

CCRF commonly funds projects in:

Relapse and refractory pediatric cancers

High-mortality cancers (AT/RT, DIPG, high-risk neuroblastoma)

AYA oncology

Brain tumors

Osteosarcoma and sarcomas

Immunotherapy & cell therapy

Survivorship & late effects research

Predictor: Aligning your project with one of these high-priority areas strengthens competitiveness.

8. Collaborative & Translational Value (Increasing Priority)

CCRF increasingly funds:

Collaborative teams (clinicians + basic scientists)

Projects with a clear translational pathway

Proposals that leverage patient registries, clinical trials, or multi-center data

Research that can lead to improved diagnostics or therapeutics within the next 5–10 years

Predictor: Demonstrating team science and translational relevance boosts success.

9. Strong Writing Quality & Clear Justification

Top-scoring proposals are:

Well-organized and concise

Easy for multidisciplinary reviewers to understand

Strongly justified based on pediatric cancer biology

Explicit about how results will improve children’s lives

Predictor: High-quality scientific writing substantially increases scoring.

10. Realistic Budget & Scope

CCRF awards are typically modest compared to NIH R01-level funding.

Successful proposals:

Match the scope to the award size

Budget primarily for supplies, personnel, and essential services

Avoid inflation or overly ambitious multi-year plans unless applying for the Acceleration Initiative

Predictor: A lean, focused budget aligned with project aims improves reviewer confidence.

🏆 Summary Table

Success Predictor	Why It Matters
Pediatric cancer focus	Essential for CCRF mission alignment
Mechanism alignment	Ensures correct expectations
Strong preliminary data	Demonstrates feasibility
Innovative, high-impact ideas	Core CCRF priority
Clear specific aims & milestones	Improves reviewer confidence
Strong mentorship & environment	Critical for early-career success
Alignment with CCRF priority diseases	Increases competitiveness
Translational or collaborative approach	Reflects CCRF direction
Excellent writing	Shapes reviewer enthusiasm
Realistic budget & timeline	Matches CCRF funding level

Specialties

Cancer

Eligibility Requirements

• Applicants must be PI-eligible at their sponsoring institution.

• Applicant U.S. citizenship is not a requirement.

• Applications will be accepted only from U.S.-based institutions.

• Awarded PIs are required to commit at least 10 percent of their research effort each year to activities supported by this award.

• Co-Investigators and/or collaborators are permitted, but the award must be made to a single institution which will act as the grant administrator.

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: Children's Cancer Research Fund

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 1650 W 82nd St., Suite 400 Minneapolis, MN 55431

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