The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Public and philanthropic research funding, publications and research networks for cancer in the Commonwealth and globally in 2016-2023: a comparative analysis

Public and philanthropic research funding, publications and research networks for cancer in the Commonwealth and globally in 2016-2023: a comparative analysis
Public and philanthropic research funding, publications and research networks for cancer in the Commonwealth and globally in 2016-2023: a comparative analysis

This Review presents a comprehensive analysis of the amounts and distribution of public and philanthropic global cancer research funding between 2016 and 2023, including patterns of international collaboration and downstream research output, with an emphasis on the Commonwealth. We show that annual investment decreased globally each year, apart from a rise in 2021. Network analysis revealed that grant and publication collaborations between the Commonwealth, the USA, and the EU are facilitated by linkages through a core group of Commonwealth countries, including the UK, Australia, and Canada. There are inequities in research investment and low funding for treatment modalities for many cancers. These inequities also manifest in the central positioning of high-income Commonwealth countries in research collaborations, but also point to opportunities for high-income Commonwealth countries to facilitate linkages with low-income countries and support active cancer research in the USA and the EU. There is an urgent need to review research investment priorities, both within the Commonwealth and globally, to align with population needs and promote collaborative strategies that can build research skills and infrastructure in low-income settings to impact global cancer control. Finite resources should be invested wisely to achieve maximum improvements in mortality and alleviate the cancer burden.

Biomedical Research/economics, Fund Raising/economics, Global Health/economics, Humans, International Cooperation, Neoplasms/economics, Publications, Research Support as Topic/trends
1470-2045
e466-e476
Du, Anbang
abc5728b-43bd-47af-920b-2ea6dfae70f2
Brede, Markus
bbd03865-8e0b-4372-b9d7-cd549631f3f7
McIntosh, Stuart A.
64e6b959-5e9c-4755-a352-4554f625ec2b
Zhang, Beining
9ffb4262-a639-4ff4-aaba-975ef108998e
Alem, Aminu Osman
344b32e2-4845-4e48-81f7-c4a31b2f18fa
Castillo, Gabriela Borin
3ce9d61e-c4b3-43d7-9563-ed66e5f0298a
Cheah, Wilson
b755ab01-bbff-49ba-bce6-053a99b70ab5
Copson, Ellen
a94cdbd6-f6e2-429d-a7c0-462c7da0e92b
Cutress, Ramsey I.
68ae4f86-e8cf-411f-a335-cdba51797406
Folz, Anna
b2cdb18f-b3be-464f-a37f-927bc3fc4509
Helms, Emily T.
1ecabbb3-3857-4e76-a7ba-b652810bc624
Memon, Zain
7586dae4-e0ba-4cd9-8f00-1f25323625ab
Olaniran, Olabiyi H.
5486de48-4467-4d4f-9959-8f6514061fef
Savva, Constantinos
d6e87674-1443-41f4-84ba-81c1ccfeb3d7
Thomas, Edward
2bf342f6-5518-459b-804b-69b5c21a9c33
Atun, Rifat
20f14d3b-facf-4079-8566-eb6d13521a34
Head, Michael G.
67ce0afc-2fc3-47f4-acf2-8794d27ce69c
Du, Anbang
abc5728b-43bd-47af-920b-2ea6dfae70f2
Brede, Markus
bbd03865-8e0b-4372-b9d7-cd549631f3f7
McIntosh, Stuart A.
64e6b959-5e9c-4755-a352-4554f625ec2b
Zhang, Beining
9ffb4262-a639-4ff4-aaba-975ef108998e
Alem, Aminu Osman
344b32e2-4845-4e48-81f7-c4a31b2f18fa
Castillo, Gabriela Borin
3ce9d61e-c4b3-43d7-9563-ed66e5f0298a
Cheah, Wilson
b755ab01-bbff-49ba-bce6-053a99b70ab5
Copson, Ellen
a94cdbd6-f6e2-429d-a7c0-462c7da0e92b
Cutress, Ramsey I.
68ae4f86-e8cf-411f-a335-cdba51797406
Folz, Anna
b2cdb18f-b3be-464f-a37f-927bc3fc4509
Helms, Emily T.
1ecabbb3-3857-4e76-a7ba-b652810bc624
Memon, Zain
7586dae4-e0ba-4cd9-8f00-1f25323625ab
Olaniran, Olabiyi H.
5486de48-4467-4d4f-9959-8f6514061fef
Savva, Constantinos
d6e87674-1443-41f4-84ba-81c1ccfeb3d7
Thomas, Edward
2bf342f6-5518-459b-804b-69b5c21a9c33
Atun, Rifat
20f14d3b-facf-4079-8566-eb6d13521a34
Head, Michael G.
67ce0afc-2fc3-47f4-acf2-8794d27ce69c

Du, Anbang, Brede, Markus, McIntosh, Stuart A., Zhang, Beining, Alem, Aminu Osman, Castillo, Gabriela Borin, Cheah, Wilson, Copson, Ellen, Cutress, Ramsey I., Folz, Anna, Helms, Emily T., Memon, Zain, Olaniran, Olabiyi H., Savva, Constantinos, Thomas, Edward, Atun, Rifat and Head, Michael G. (2025) Public and philanthropic research funding, publications and research networks for cancer in the Commonwealth and globally in 2016-2023: a comparative analysis. The Lancet Oncology, 26 (9), e466-e476. (doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(25)00338-9).

Record type: Review

Abstract

This Review presents a comprehensive analysis of the amounts and distribution of public and philanthropic global cancer research funding between 2016 and 2023, including patterns of international collaboration and downstream research output, with an emphasis on the Commonwealth. We show that annual investment decreased globally each year, apart from a rise in 2021. Network analysis revealed that grant and publication collaborations between the Commonwealth, the USA, and the EU are facilitated by linkages through a core group of Commonwealth countries, including the UK, Australia, and Canada. There are inequities in research investment and low funding for treatment modalities for many cancers. These inequities also manifest in the central positioning of high-income Commonwealth countries in research collaborations, but also point to opportunities for high-income Commonwealth countries to facilitate linkages with low-income countries and support active cancer research in the USA and the EU. There is an urgent need to review research investment priorities, both within the Commonwealth and globally, to align with population needs and promote collaborative strategies that can build research skills and infrastructure in low-income settings to impact global cancer control. Finite resources should be invested wisely to achieve maximum improvements in mortality and alleviate the cancer burden.

Text
accepted_manuscript - Accepted Manuscript
Download (724kB)

More information

Accepted/In Press date: 27 May 2025
e-pub ahead of print date: 1 September 2025
Published date: 1 September 2025
Keywords: Biomedical Research/economics, Fund Raising/economics, Global Health/economics, Humans, International Cooperation, Neoplasms/economics, Publications, Research Support as Topic/trends

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 503139
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/503139
ISSN: 1470-2045
PURE UUID: 5c8a72a4-a7e3-4a1b-80eb-8a45846beb23
ORCID for Anbang Du: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4049-2778
ORCID for Wilson Cheah: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1170-6810
ORCID for Constantinos Savva: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-0805-4719
ORCID for Michael G. Head: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1189-0531

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 22 Jul 2025 16:45
Last modified: 29 Oct 2025 03:08

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Anbang Du ORCID iD
Author: Markus Brede
Author: Stuart A. McIntosh
Author: Beining Zhang
Author: Aminu Osman Alem
Author: Gabriela Borin Castillo
Author: Wilson Cheah ORCID iD
Author: Ellen Copson
Author: Anna Folz
Author: Emily T. Helms
Author: Zain Memon
Author: Olabiyi H. Olaniran
Author: Edward Thomas
Author: Rifat Atun
Author: Michael G. Head ORCID iD

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×