Sarcoma UK’s Improving Understanding and Treatment of Metastatic Sarcoma funding call aims to support research that advances understanding of the biological mechanisms underpinning metastatic sarcoma and translates this knowledge towards improved therapeutic strategies and patient outcomes.
About this call
Sarcoma UK runs a funding call every year targeted at an issue of high priority for people affected by sarcoma and the sarcoma research community.
Metastatic disease is the leading cause of death for people with sarcoma, but the biology is poorly understood. Research has often focussed on primary tumours rather than the mechanisms driving spread and resistance. There is an urgent need to better understand the biological mechanisms underpinning sarcoma metastasis and to develop more effective approaches to prevent, detect, and treat metastatic disease.
In addition, many people with sarcoma now live longer with metastatic or recurrent disease, experiencing high symptom burden and poor prognosis, with limited evidence to guide treatment pathways. Theis leads to significant long-term physical, psychological and social effects related to both the cancer itself and its treatment.
Scope and remit
The Improving Understanding and Treatment of Metastatic Sarcoma funding call aims to support research that advances understanding of the biological mechanisms underpinning sarcoma metastasis and translates this knowledge towards improved therapeutic strategies and patient outcomes. Applications should have a clear pathway to impact to improve survival, treatment effectiveness, or quality of life for patients with metastatic sarcoma.
Funding will be available for clearly defined research projects from any field of research which address key biological questions or clinical challenges related to metastatic sarcoma. Applications must focus on metastatic sarcoma and clearly define the sarcoma subtype under investigation, justifying the relevance of the proposed work to that specific disease context.
Applications may cover, but are not limited to, the following research areas:
- Improved understanding of the underlying biology, development, or mechanisms of metastatic sarcoma, with a clear pathway to impact for development of new therapies or improved outcomes for patients
- Development of more effective treatments and optimisation of treatments for metastatic sarcoma and recurrence, where grounded in a clear mechanistic rationale
- Exploration of strategies to predict or prevent metastasis, such as, but not limited to, prognostic or predictive biomarkers
- Research addressing the clinical challenges and quality of life impacts specific to patients living with metastatic sarcomas
Applications must have specific relevance to sarcoma metastasis. Applicants will be asked to justify the relevance of their proposal to metastatic sarcoma as part of their application.
Grant types available
Small Grants, £100,000 – for pump-priming ideas, innovative pilot studies, providing proof of concept, or funding additional research to a larger project already underway.
Large Grants, £200,000, to support a substantive piece of work; must support a member of staff.
Call timelines
The deadline for this call is midday 2nd July 2026
Applicant response to peer and lay review: October 2026
Applicants informed of outcome: December 2026
How to apply
Sarcoma UK has recently moved to a new grants management platform, FlexiGrant. All funding calls will be hosted and managed through this system.
Researchers interested in applying for Sarcoma UK funding will need to create a FlexiGrant account in order to access call information and submit applications.
You can access the Sarcoma UK FlexiGrant portal here: Portal homepage – Sarcoma UK
If you have any issues creating an account please reach out to research@sarcoma.org.uk
Assessment Criteria
Sarcoma UK’s research programme is flexible and broad. Proposals will be assessed on scientific quality and relevance to people affected by sarcoma.
All applications will proceed to review unless they are deemed out of remit for the call shortly following submission. Applications will be assessed on a variety of criteria by peer and lay written reviews and Sarcoma UK’s Grant Review Panel, including scientific quality, pathway to impact and the team and environment. Read more about how your proposal will be assessed.
Eligibility criteria for our funding calls
If you are unsure about the eligibility of your application, please contact Sarcoma UK’s research team by emailing research@sarcoma.org.uk.
Host institution requirements
- The host institution for the project must be a UK-based higher education institution, research institute or within the NHS.
- The principal investigator of the work must have a permanent contract of employment within the host institution for the duration of the grant prior to application.
- The host institution will be responsible for the entirety of the award, including all administration, liaison with third parties and ensuring compliance with conditions of award by other institutions where appropriate.
- Multi-institutional and collaborative applications are strongly encouraged; collaborators may be based outside the UK. The contribution of co-applicants and collaborators to relevant work packages must be clearly outlined in the application.
Applicant requirements
- The Principal Investigator (PI) is responsible for the intellectual leadership of the research project and must be actively engaged in the overall management of the research.
- The PI should be able to demonstrate evidence of a strong research record, with experience to drive and lead a research project which addresses your proposed research questions. Demonstrable evidence could include publications, successful grant applications and an ability to lead teams.
- Applications from researchers outside the immediate field of sarcoma are welcome but are strongly encouraged to involve the expertise of investigators with a background or expertise in sarcoma biology and/or sarcoma clinical management.
- The PI and the proposed project must be based in the UK at a Higher Education Institution (HEI), Research Institute or Clinical Institution. The principal investigator of the work must have a contract of employment within the host institution for the duration of the grant prior to application.
- Where the PI is on a fixed-term contract, their contract must extend at least one year beyond the lifetime of the project, or the host institution must demonstrate that it intends to award a permanent position at the end of the fixed term. In addition, a co-applicant with a permanent post at the host institution should be listed on the application.
- Named Co-Is must be actively involved in the running of the project to the extent indicated in the application.
- Please note that salary costs for Principal Investigators or Co-Investigators may not be requested.
Resubmission guidance
For submissions of proposals across any Sarcoma UK grant rounds, we allow only one resubmission of a previously unsuccessful proposal, unless you have been explicitly invited to resubmit for a second time.
For all resubmissions, we require a full explanation of the revisions (additions, deletions and modifications) made to the proposal from its previous iteration, and responding to any concerns raised by reviewers or the Grant Review Panel. Please include this explanation as a maximum of 2 pages of A4 attached prior to your application form.
Resubmissions will be checked as part of our triaging process; applications which do not meet the above requirements will not be accepted.
Other requirements
Applications will not be accepted:
- Where the primary intent of the grant is for purchase of equipment
- From commercial organisations.
- For PhD studentships
- Where the application has been submitted to any of Sarcoma UK’s funding calls on more than one previous occasion unless explicitly invited.
- Please note that the member of staff supported on a large grant may not be a PhD student.
