Request for Information (RFI): National Cancer Institute (NCI) Chemical Repository for Chemical Carcinogenesis Research

Notice Number: NOT-CA-10-028

Key Dates
Release Date: July 7, 2010
Response Date: August 10, 2010

Issued by
National Cancer Institute (NCI), (http://www.cancer.gov)

This Request for Information (RFI) is for information and planning purposes only and should not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Federal Government, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The NCI does not intend to make any awards based on responses to this RFI or to otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted or for the Government's use of such information.

Purpose

The purpose of this RFI is to gather information in order to assess current needs and identify future priorities for the synthesis and distribution of chemicals and chemical intermediates used in chemical carcinogenesis research. The Chemical Carcinogen Reference Standards Repository of the NCI’s Division of Cancer Biology, Cancer Etiology Branch currently provides 70 specific chemicals at nominal cost to the research community. The current catalog can be found at: http://www.mriresearch.org/WorkingWithMRI/Documents/NCI%202010%20Catalog.pdf. At the time of their selection, these chemicals were not readily available from commercial sources, or were only available at costs that exceed the funds normally available to individual grantees. The Division is now seeking to assess the needs of the chemical carcinogenesis community for this Repository and determine if the current list of compounds should continue to be made available, or if additional compounds should replace or be added to those on the list in order to meet the new or changing needs of the community.

Background

The Cancer Etiology Branch (CEB) of the Division of Cancer Biology, NCI, has as its primary concern the etiology of human cancer caused or promoted by chemical or physical agents acting separately, together, or in combination with biological agents. As a part of its program, the CEB has supported the development and distribution of resources relevant to studies on chemical carcinogenesis. Since 1974, CEB has maintained a Chemical Carcinogen Reference Standard Repository to provide the community with chemical carcinogens and carcinogenic intermediates, based on the need of individual grant programs. The goal was to provide researchers with high quality chemicals that otherwise might be rare, expensive, not easily synthesized, not available from commercial sources, and/or unaffordable within an individual project budget. In the past, this repository offered over 1300 compounds, including some in radiolabeled form. However, the available inventory has been reduced in recent years due to lower demand and budgetary restrictions. Currently, the repository consists of 70 compounds, which are mainly derivatives of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and nitrosamines.

The compounds currently offered were originally selected over 30 years ago. As chemical carcinogenesis research has evolved over this period, the CEB is now reevaluating the repository resource. The assistance of the carcinogenesis community is sought to determine whether the resource is still filling a critical need and to identify specific unavailable chemicals that would be of significant broad value to that community. The information obtained from this RFI will also help to determine if there is a need by carcinogenesis investigators for the synthesis and distribution of specific chemicals or chemical classes, in order to support, provide essential aid, and stimulate cutting edge research in this area.

Information Requested

The NCI seeks information and feedback from the interested researchers and any other interested parties on to the following issues:

  1. Experience with the NCI Chemical Carcinogen Repository:
    Input is welcome on your experience using the Repository. If you have not used the Repository, we are also interested in brief reasons why.  If you have used the resource, input might include:
  2. Prospective needs for the NCI Chemical Carcinogen Repository:
  3. General research needs for unique, commercially available carcinogens or carcinogenic intermediates:
  4. Changes in the NCI Chemical Carcinogen Repository:

If you are willing to do so, please indicate your primary affiliation/role from the categories listed below:

Academia;
Small Business
Pharmaceutical/Biotechnology Industry;
Federal Government;
State Government;
Healthcare Professional;
Patient Advocacy Group; and
Other (briefly define).

Responses

Responses are welcome and we expect significant interest from members of the chemical carcinogenesis community whose research utilizes or would utilize chemical carcinogens and chemical metabolites, including individuals and groups involved in studying mechanisms of chemical and physical agents in the etiology of cancer. Responses will be accepted through August 10, 2010 and can be e-mailed to ncidcbrfi@mail.nih.gov.

Respondents will receive an automated email confirmation acknowledging receipt of their response, but will not receive individualized feedback.
Responses may be anonymous. All individual responses will remain confidential. Any identifiers (e.g., names, institutions, e-mail addresses, etc.) will be removed when responses are compiled. Only the processed, anonymized results will be shared internally with program and scientific working groups convened by the NCI, as appropriate. Nonetheless, no proprietary information should be submitted

Inquiries

Inquiries regarding this RFI may be directed to:

Donald G. Blair, Ph.D.
Chief, Cancer Etiology Branch
Division of Cancer Biology/NCI
Room 5012, Mail Stop: 7396
6130 Executive Blvd.
Bethesda, MD 20892-7396 (for U.S. Postal Service regular or express mail)
Rockville, MD 20852 (for non-USPS delivery)
Telephone: 301-496-9740
Fax: 301-496-2025
E-mail: blaird@mail.nih.gov


Weekly TOC for this Announcement
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices


Office of Extramural Research (OER) - Home Page Office of Extramural
Research (OER)
  National Institutes of Health (NIH) - Home Page National Institutes of Health (NIH)
9000 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, Maryland 20892
  Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) - Home Page Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS)
  USA.gov - Government Made Easy


Note: For help accessing PDF, RTF, MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Audio or Video files, see Help Downloading Files.