Cost-effective priorities for cancer prevention.

Faced with limited resources, the United States must set priorities for research to identify preventable causes of cancer. A quantitative approach to priority setting, based on principles of decision analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis, can offer guidance in this process. An illustrative application of such a model suggests that the National Institutes of Health-supported clinical trial of dietary beta-carotene offers a greater expected reduction in cancer mortality per research dollar than carcinogen bioassays of high-volume industrial chemicals such as p-dichlorobenzene. National research priorities should reflect the relative cost-effectiveness of such investments.