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Who pays for cancer research and care innovation. Figures are as published by each funder, in their own currency and fiscal year, each with a source link. Unsourced figures are omitted. This is a starting map, not an audit.
Two facts frame everything else. The US National Cancer Institute is the largest single funder of cancer research, at roughly seven billion dollars a year, and it pays for the infrastructure the rest of the field depends on: the designated centres, the cooperative groups, and the registries. Industry spending on cancer medicines is an order of magnitude larger and is what pays for late-stage trials; that is why the products on this site cluster where the market is, and why cooperative groups and charities matter for the questions industry will not fund, such as de-escalation, exercise, and comparisons between approved drugs.
| Funder | Amount | What | Linked | Source | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) | Government | DE | ≈€400 million | Annual budget, 90% federal and 10% Baden-Württemberg, plus third-party funds | 2024 | source | |
| Pharmaceutical industry (oncology medicines spending) | Industry | Global | ≈US$250 billion (2024) → ≈US$440 billion (2029, projected) | Global spending on cancer medicines per IQVIA Global Oncology Trends; the revenue base that funds most late-stage oncology R&D Spending, not R&D. Oncology is the largest therapeutic area in industry pipelines by number of programmes. | 2024 | source | |
| US National Cancer Institute (NCI) | Government | US | US$7.35 billion | Total NCI appropriation, FY2026, under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (H.R. 1748); an increase of US$128 million over the FY2025 enacted level The single largest cancer research funder in the world. Funds the 74 NCI-designated centres, the NCTN cooperative groups, SEER, and intramural research. | FY2026 | source | |
| US National Institutes of Health (all institutes) | Government | US | ≈US$47 billion | Total NIH appropriation, of which NCI is the largest institute | FY2024 | source | |
| Cancer Moonshot (21st Century Cures Act) | Government | US | US$1.8 billion over 7 years | Dedicated Moonshot funding to NCI, FY2017 to FY2023, for immunotherapy, data sharing, early detection, and paediatric cancer | 2017 to 2023 | source | |
| ARPA-H (Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health) | Government | US | US$1.5 billion | Total agency appropriation (all diseases); cancer programmes include ADAPT (adaptive cancer therapy) and early-detection efforts Not cancer-specific; a meaningful share goes to oncology programmes. | FY2024 | - | source |
| Cancer Research UK | Charities and foundations | GB | ≈£440 million | Annual research expenditure of the world's largest independent cancer charity | 2023/24 | source | |
| EU Mission on Cancer (Horizon Europe) | European Union | EU | €378 million (2021 to 2023 work programme) | Horizon Europe research funding under the Cancer Mission; part of Europe's Beating Cancer Plan (≈€4 billion across EU instruments) | 2021 to 2023 | source | |
| Breast Cancer Research Foundation | Charities and foundations | US | ≈US$60 million per year | Annual research grants; the largest private funder of breast cancer research | 2024 to 2025 | source | |
| Stand Up To Cancer | Charities and foundations | US | >US$800 million raised since 2008 | Cumulative funds for collaborative 'Dream Team' translational research | 2008 to 2025 | - | source |
| Ludwig Cancer Research | Charities and foundations | CH | ≈US$3 billion committed since 1971 | Cumulative funding of Ludwig Institute branches and Ludwig Centers at six US universities | 1971 to 2025 | source |
Missing a funder? Add a sourced row to src/data/funding.ts. See gaps for other places to help, and the NCI page for what its budget buys.