A Survey of Public Funding of Cancer Research in the European Union

In 2002 cancer accounted for 16.7% of the total burden of disease in the European Union (EU), compared with 25.3% and 17.1% for mental health and cardiovascular diseases, respectively [1]. In the period relevant to this Policy Forum, cancer was the second largest cause of mortality in the EU, accounting for 27.08% of all deaths. With the ageing population and the continuing impact of tobacco-associated cancers, it is predicted that cancer rates could increase by 50% to 15 million new cases worldwide in the year 2020…