Prostate and Breast Cancer Funding - NIH Budget
Graph of the Week
This week’s graph illustrates the amount of money that the United States (U.S.) National Institutes of Health (NIH) invested into prostate and breast cancer research between financial years (FY) 2008-2023.
Key Points
• According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2021, 236,659 new cases of prostate cancer were reported. In 2022, 33,363 men in the U.S. died from prostate cancer. The five-year relative survival rate for prostate cancer in the U.S. is 97%. Most prostate cancer is found in men who are 55 years of age or older.
• In 2021, 272,454 new female breast cancer cases were reported. In 2022, 42,211 women in the U.S. died of breast cancer. The five-year relative survival rate for breast cancer in the U.S. is 91%. Most breast cancer is found in women who are 50 years of age or older.
• As shown in the graph below, every year, the U.S. government invests about 2.5 times more money into breast cancer research than it does prostate cancer research, averaging around 700 million dollars per year for breast cancer research and 270 million dollars per year for prostate cancer research.
Source: NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools (RePORT). Accessed on December 28, 2024.
Bonus Graphs
• Funding differences are not inconsequential. They impact the amount of research completed on a topic, as intended qua disproportionate funding.
• The first graph shows the number of articles indexed in PubMed that have the phrases “breast cancer” or “prostate cancer” in their titles or abstract. Thousands more research articles are published each on breast cancer than prostate cancer. The second graph expresses the number of articles as a ratio. Each year, about 2.5 times more research articles are published on breast cancer than prostate cancer. This difference in number of articles published is consistent with the size of the funding difference.
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Thank you Jim. This is important info, especially the details about each type of cancer and how they are remarkably similar.
Yes, I "knew" this but it's great to see the actual data presented so clearly and convincingly. Very useful. Thanks again Jim.