Abstract
BackgroundBuilding on an approach developed to assess the economic returns to cardiovascular research, we estimated the economic returns from UK public and charitable funded cancer-related research that arise from the net value of the improved health outcomes.MethodsTo assess these economic returns from cancer-related research in the UK we estimated: 1) public and charitable expenditure on cancer-related research in the UK from 1970 to 2009; 2) net monetary benefit (NMB), that is, the health benefit measured in quality adjusted life years (QALYs) valued in monetary terms (using a base-case value of a QALY of GB£25,000) minus the cost of delivering that benefit, for a prioritised list of interventions from 1991 to 2010; 3) the proportion of NMB attributable to UK research; 4) the elapsed time between research funding and health gain; and 5) the internal rate of return (IRR) from cancer-related research investments on health benefits. We analysed the uncertainties in the IRR estimate using sensitivity analyses to illustrate the effect of some key parameters.ResultsIn 2011/12 prices, total expenditure on cancer-related research from 1970 to 2009 was £15 billion. The NMB of the 5.9 million QALYs gained from the prioritised interventions from 1991 to 2010 was £124 billion. Calculation of the IRR incorporated an estimated elapsed time of 15 years. We related 17% of the annual NMB estimated to be attributable to UK research (for each of the 20 years 1991 to 2010) to 20 years of research investment 15 years earlier (that is, for 1976 to 1995). This produced a best-estimate IRR of 10%, compared with 9% previously estimated for cardiovascular disease research. The sensitivity analysis demonstrated the importance of smoking reduction as a major source of improved cancer-related health outcomes.ConclusionsWe have demonstrated a substantive IRR from net health gain to public and charitable funding of cancer-related research in the UK, and further validated the approach that we originally used in assessing the returns from cardiovascular research. In doing so, we have highlighted a number of weaknesses and key assumptions that need strengthening in further investigations. Nevertheless, these cautious estimates demonstrate that the returns from past cancer research have been substantial, and justify the investments made during the period 1976 to 1995.
Highlights
Building on an approach developed to assess the economic returns to cardiovascular research, we estimated the economic returns from UK public and charitable funded cancer-related research that arise from the net value of the improved health outcomes
We present the methods used for the four main steps that provided the estimated parameters to enable us to calculate the economic returns from the net monetary benefits (NMB) of the UK health gains that we attributed to past UK publicly and charitably funded cancer-related research, and present the results expressed as estimates of the internal rate of return (IRR), with sensitivity analyses to illustrate the effects of some of the key uncertainties
Identifying the key cancer interventions At the outset of the study, we had a number of discussions with cancer research experts to provide us with a broad understanding of the main developments in the field over the past 20 years. We quantitatively identified those areas that had resulted in the largest health gain in the UK since 1990, arising from three main sources: 1) key cancers where research and resultant health policies have led to health gains through a reduction in incidence; 2) key cancers for which screening programmes have led to health gains because of early detection; and 3) key cancers where there have been the most significant health gains from increased survival
Summary
Building on an approach developed to assess the economic returns to cardiovascular research, we estimated the economic returns from UK public and charitable funded cancer-related research that arise from the net value of the improved health outcomes. Estimating the returns from biomedical and health research Estimating the economic returns arising from health research develops our understanding of how research translates from ‘bench to bedside’, can be used in advocating the case for future investments in medical research, and demonstrates accountability for public and charitable research funding to taxpayers and donors. Because resources used for publicly and charitably funded medical research, including cancer research, could potentially be put to other purposes for the benefit of society, there is an obligation to demonstrate that such investments represent good value. As noted in an editorial in Nature in 2010: ‘Most of the attempts to count the economic benefits of investment in science have been derived from the efforts of lobbying groups and funding agencies to justify science spending’ [1]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
