Time for a new approach to the cancer research funding gap

Abstract

Good progress has been made against cancer in the USA, driven by federally funded biomedical research, but a huge health and financial burden remains. Benefits have not been uniform for all types of cancer, nor for all patients diagnosed with a given cancer. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act should tackle the ongoing challenge of cancer health disparities. However, further progress is likely to be hampered by ongoing funding shortfalls, as underscored by a report published by the American Association for Cancer Research on Sept 17, 2014, calling for increased federal investments in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Cancer Institute (NCI). Although 21·5 million new cancer cases are anticipated to occur by 2030, funding cuts for the NIH have amounted to US$1·6 billion and, with levels not matching biomedical inflation, a further $3·5 billion dollar shortfall in NIH funding has resulted since 2010.Despite the rising health and economic burden of cancer, in fiscally challenging times federal agencies need to focus on research areas where the potential impact is greatest and commercial support is low. On Sept 18, US President Barack Obama called for a strategic, coordinated, and sustained effort to tackle antibiotic resistance. Antibiotics have revolutionised cancer treatment by supporting advanced surgical procedures and aggressive therapies. The development of new antibacterial drugs, in addition to vaccines, diagnostics, and other novel therapeutics, would benefit cancer care substantially. Investment in comparative research on competing treatments will ensure that resources available to clinicians are used efficiently and to maximum effect—potential savings of $700 billion per annum have been projected in an Editorial in The Lancet Oncology, against the $2·5 trillion annual US health-care spend. Furthermore, with expectations that more than 50% of US cancer deaths in 2014 will be related to preventable causes, strategies targeted at healthy living could substantially reduce cancer incidence. To achieve maximum improvements in cancer care, the NIH and NCI need to step out of their comfort zone and focus on new targets that deliver greater health-related returns for their investment.For more on the Executive Order from the White House see http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/18/executive-order-combating-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria Good progress has been made against cancer in the USA, driven by federally funded biomedical research, but a huge health and financial burden remains. Benefits have not been uniform for all types of cancer, nor for all patients diagnosed with a given cancer. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act should tackle the ongoing challenge of cancer health disparities. However, further progress is likely to be hampered by ongoing funding shortfalls, as underscored by a report published by the American Association for Cancer Research on Sept 17, 2014, calling for increased federal investments in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Cancer Institute (NCI). Although 21·5 million new cancer cases are anticipated to occur by 2030, funding cuts for the NIH have amounted to US$1·6 billion and, with levels not matching biomedical inflation, a further $3·5 billion dollar shortfall in NIH funding has resulted since 2010. Despite the rising health and economic burden of cancer, in fiscally challenging times federal agencies need to focus on research areas where the potential impact is greatest and commercial support is low. On Sept 18, US President Barack Obama called for a strategic, coordinated, and sustained effort to tackle antibiotic resistance. Antibiotics have revolutionised cancer treatment by supporting advanced surgical procedures and aggressive therapies. The development of new antibacterial drugs, in addition to vaccines, diagnostics, and other novel therapeutics, would benefit cancer care substantially. Investment in comparative research on competing treatments will ensure that resources available to clinicians are used efficiently and to maximum effect—potential savings of $700 billion per annum have been projected in an Editorial in The Lancet Oncology, against the $2·5 trillion annual US health-care spend. Furthermore, with expectations that more than 50% of US cancer deaths in 2014 will be related to preventable causes, strategies targeted at healthy living could substantially reduce cancer incidence. To achieve maximum improvements in cancer care, the NIH and NCI need to step out of their comfort zone and focus on new targets that deliver greater health-related returns for their investment. For more on the Executive Order from the White House see http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/18/executive-order-combating-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria For more on the Executive Order from the White House see http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/18/executive-order-combating-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria For more on the Executive Order from the White House see http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/18/executive-order-combating-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria