Department of Surgery, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan; Department of Surgery, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
Department of Surgery, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
J Cancer Policy. 2024 Sep;41:100489. doi: 10.1016/j.jcpo.2024.100489. Epub 2024 Jun 6.
The rising burden of cancer significantly influences the global economy and healthcare systems. While local and contextual cancer research is crucial, it is often limited by the availability of funds. In South Asia, with 1.7 million new cancer cases and 1.1 million deaths due to cancer in 2020, understanding cancer research funding trends is pivotal.
We reviewed funded cancer studies conducted between January 1, 2003, and Dec 31, 2022, using ClinicalTrials.gov, International Cancer Research Partnership (ICRP) Database, NIH World RePORT, and WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP). We included funded studies related to all cancer types, conducted in South Asian countries, namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
We identified 6561 funded cancer studies from South Asia between 2003 and 2022, increasing from 400 studies in 2003-2007 to 3909 studies in 2018-2022. India had the highest number of funded cancer studies, while Afghanistan, Bhutan, and the Maldives had minimal or no funded cancer research output. Interventional studies (67.3%) were the most common study type funded. The most common cancer sites funded were breast (17.8%), lung (9.9%), oropharyngeal (6.2%), and cervical (5.0%) cancers. On the WHO ICTRP, international funding agencies contributed to a majority of studies (57.5%), except in India where local funding agencies (58.2%) funded more studies.
This study identified gaps in research funding distribution across cancer types and geographic areas in South Asia. This data can be used to optimize the distribution of cancer research funding in South Asia, fostering equitable advancement in cancer research.
癌症负担的不断增加对全球经济和医疗体系产生了重大影响。虽然地方和具体的癌症研究至关重要，但往往受到资金可用性的限制。在南亚，2020 年有 170 万例新癌症病例和 110 万例癌症死亡病例，了解癌症研究资金趋势至关重要。
我们使用 ClinicalTrials.gov、国际癌症研究伙伴关系 (ICRP) 数据库、NIH 世界报告和世界卫生组织国际临床试验注册平台 (ICTRP) 审查了 2003 年 1 月 1 日至 2022 年 12 月 31 日期间开展的癌症资助研究。我们纳入了在南亚国家（阿富汗、孟加拉国、不丹、印度、马尔代夫、尼泊尔、巴基斯坦和斯里兰卡）开展的所有癌症类型的资助研究。
我们发现 2003 年至 2022 年期间，南亚有 6561 项癌症资助研究，从 2003 年至 2007 年的 400 项研究增加到 2018 年至 2022 年的 3909 项研究。印度拥有最多的癌症资助研究，而阿富汗、不丹和马尔代夫的癌症资助研究产出极少或没有。干预性研究（67.3%）是最常见的资助研究类型。最常见的资助癌症部位是乳腺癌（17.8%）、肺癌（9.9%）、口咽癌（6.2%）和宫颈癌（5.0%）。在世界卫生组织国际临床试验注册平台上，国际资助机构对大多数研究（57.5%）做出了贡献，而在印度，本地资助机构（58.2%）资助了更多的研究。
本研究发现了南亚癌症类型和地理区域研究资金分配的差距。这些数据可用于优化南亚癌症研究资金的分配，促进癌症研究的公平发展。
