The NCRI Secretariat has recently completed its 2013 analysis of cancer research funding by NCRI Partner organisations.
Each year 21 cancer research funding Partner organisations submit data for inclusion in the NCRI Cancer Research Database (CaRD). This includes the value of each award and an abstract that explains what the research project is. Each award is then categorised by type of research and by cancer site. The CaRD allows us to analyse spend and track how UK funding for cancer changes over time.
The top-line findings for 2013
- £503m was spent on cancer research in 2013 – this is the fourth consecutive year that NCRI Partners have committed over half a billion pounds to cancer research.
- Analysis by type of research showed that approximately 40% of this funding went on research into the biology of cancer – this is research into things like the genes and proteins involved in healthy cell and cancer cell growth. Almost 30% of funding went on research into cancer treatment, with the remainder being split between other areas of research, such as cancer diagnosis and detection, causes of cancer, and prevention.
- Analysis by cancer site showed that approximately 55% of funding was on non-site specific research, which means research that is applicable to all cancers. This can include very early stage research such as looking at how cells divide, as well as research into survivorship issues and end of life care. The remaining 45% was on site-specific research – research that is focused on a specific cancer site or sites. Breast cancer received the largest proportion of site-specific funding.
The complete dataset gives much more detail, and is available on our website.
► NCRI Cancer Research Database (NCRI webpage)