Research spending on cancers doesn't match their death rates

Zosia Kmietowicz London

Scientists in the United Kingdom believe that an innovative “map” of how money is spent on cancer research could help to streamline research on cancer, target areas of underfunding, and advance new discoveries in the field.

The National Cancer Research Institute has produced what is thought to be the world's first detailed breakdown of cancer research in any country. It estimates that funding of more than £250m ($390m; €400m) from 15 leading charities and government organisations goes towards cancer research in the United Kingdom every year.

The analysis of some 1800 projects shows that most of the funding is channelled into the country's biggest killers from cancer: cancers of the breast, colon and rectum, and prostate. However, some cancers that cause few deaths attract a large share of the funding, while others that have a high death toll get little research attention.

This is especially true for lung cancer and leukaemia. Although lung cancer accounted for 22% of deaths from cancer in 2000, it received just 3% of available funding. Conversely, leukaemia, which accounted for 3% of deaths from cancer, received 18% of the funding.

Dr Liam O'Toole, director of the institute, explained that these figures reflect in part the difficulty of research into lung cancer, which is often diagnosed late in very sick patients. By contrast research into leukaemia is much easier.

“At last we have a clear map of cancer research in the UK,” said Dr O'Toole. “Armed with this we can see where we are at the moment, and we can start to better plan where we want to get to in the future.”

The map also shows that the biggest proportion of spending (41%) goes on basic biological research, the results of which can be applied to any cancer. The next largest share (22%) goes on research into treatment, while 16% is spent on researching causes. However, research into prevention, care of patients, and survival attracts the least funding—a finding that has prompted the institute to set up special taskforce groups to see what further research might be possible in these areas.