Background Global investment in research on noncommunicable diseases is on the rise. Cancer as primus inter pares draws particular interest from a wide spectrum of research funders. Next to the private, governmental, and academic sectors, philanthropy has carved out a sizeable area in the funding landscape over the last 25 years. Previous reports describing cancer research funding have looked at the volume of investment in cancer research but have paid little attention to building strategic intelligence on funders. Moreover, these efforts have focused primarily on well-resourced organizations, neglecting a large number of players with less-developed finances. Methods In this article, we combined gnostic data acquisition with agnostic bibliometrics to establish a comprehensive map of the global cancer research funding landscape. The analysis of funding acknowledgments from cancer research papers used in this exercise is a “bottom-up” method that provides a broader perspective on the variety of actors involved. It does not rely on a priori knowledge, nor does it require funders’ support for access to the data. Results Using this approach, we have identified a total of 4693 organizations from 107 countries engaged in funding cancer research today. Conclusions This is the largest mapping exercise performed to date and should serve as a knowledge base for future analyses and comparisons aimed at understanding the dynamics and priorities of global cancer research funding.
). About V485 million were devoted to this theme, which allowed funding of 108 multidisciplinary transnational projects. A significant part of them was large-scale initiatives addressing complex issues through a broad combination of competences. All major types of cancer were covered, as well as the three dimensions such as prevention, diagnostic and treatment, with a particular emphasis on translational research aiming at bringing basic knowledge on medical practice. This approach will be continued in the 7th Framework Programme (2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013), together with a strengthened effort to improve the coordination of European cancer research, which is fragmented and in which EU action represents only a small part. EU cancer research will also be addressed within the reinforced efforts in the areas of pharmaceutical and technological developments as well as common aetiological mechanisms of diseases that the 7th Framework Programme will undertake. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. IntroductionCancer remains one of the major public health issues and challenges in Europe. According to an estimate (Boyle and Ferlay, 2005), in 2004 alone, 2.9 million people were diagnosed with cancer in Europe and 1.7 million died from it. Due to the strong association between age and the risk of cancer, these numbers are expected to increase further as the European population ages. Major efforts and investments in cancer research over the last decades have resulted in a decrease in the age-standardised mortality rate for cancer by 9% (Boyle et al., 2003), in particular thanks to better prevention, earlier diagnosis and more effective treatments. It has even been speculated that lasting improvements at these three levels mentioned could make cancer a manageable chronic disease in the future (Von Eschenbach, 2003;Sikora, 2006).Yet, in the foreseeable future, cancer will remain a formidable social and economic challenge worldwide, and further investments are therefore required to combat this disease and limit its devastating consequences.
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