Cancer Research Funding in the UK

There are over 200 different types of cancer. While a good deal of the cancer research being undertaken is relevant to all of them, nevertheless each type of cancer needs its own specialist research as well. Some cancers are slow growing, while others are very aggressive. Some respond well to currently available treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy, while others do not.

How research is funded in the UK

There is no statutory funding requirement for cancer research in the UK. Cancer research is funded by some 250 charities, a number of government bodies and the pharmaceutical industry.

There is no accurate information on how much these various players spend on cancer research in total, but the estimate is between £450-500 million per year. Until recently, there was no overall plan or systematic approach to research to ensure that each type of cancer had a fair allocation of research funding. The National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) was set up in April 2001 to address this, with the objectives of

• taking a strategic oversight of cancer research in the UK
• identifying gaps and opportunities in current research
• facilitating collaboration between funding bodies

The NCRI is a partnership of the 15 leading cancer research funders from the Government and charity sectors. It has no authority to direct how research funds are applied, but was set up as a forum for encouraging strategic co-operation between different funders.

One of NCRI’s first tasks was to get a picture of the majority of cancer research activity in the UK and to outline how and where the partner organisations spent their money. As a result, they produced a report entitled Strategic Analysis 2002 – An overview of Cancer Research in the UK directly funded by the NCRI partner Organisations. The funding patterns for different types of cancer showed that pancreatic cancer (along with some other cancers) was under-funded, given its incidence and mortality rates: