First, there is industry, the major drug companies, whose primary motive for carrying out research is simple.  They want to make a profit through selling the products which derive from their research activity.  We live in a 'market economy' society which, without the commercial risk taking and investment of the drug companies, would be in a sorry state when it comes to the treatment of cancer.  In deciding which research topics to back, a drug company will consider the potential market, the investment needed, the competition and the likelihood of success.  It will not, in the first instance, have to consider questions of political or social significance such as whether to prioritise treatments for children over those for adults or whether to prefer women to men.

The total spent by industry on cancer research in 1997-98 was about £115 million.

Cancer Charities

Second, there are the cancer charities, to which a generous British public subscribes enormous sums every year.  Collectively, the charities are very important players in the determination of what research is carried out.  They support specialist laboratories, university and hospital-based research.  They are able to take a slightly less commercial view than the drug companies of what should be done.  Longer term research can more easily be fitted into the range of subjects they finance.  They do, however, obtain their money from the public via legacies or donations and any specific wishes expressed need to be respected as far as possible.

The National Lottery is becoming an important source of funds with £2 million, 0.04 per cent of awards, going towards cancer research projects.

The amount spent by cancer charities in 1997-98 totalled about £122 million.  Two charities account for a high proportion of this sum.  The Cancer Research Campaign, now in its 75th year spent £49 million last year.  The Imperial Cancer Research Fund spent a comparable amount.  There are a number of smaller charities like the Prostate Research Campaign UK which focus on, and make a significant contribution to, specific research areas or teams.

Third, there is Government.  The Government pays for research directly from Department of Health funds and through the Medical Research Council.  A small amount is also paid for by the Scottish Office.  The total amount spent via these three Government sources on specific cancers during 1997-98 was just over £10 million.

Government funding, by comparison with that from industry and the charities, is a small sum indeed.  But it understates the actual influence of Government in two ways.

There is a great deal of co-operation between the various funding bodies to ensure that there is complementary work being done which is proceeding according to agreed priorities and towards mutually agreed goals.  The key personalities who make the decisions in all three areas know each other well and listen to each others' advice and recommendations.  The Government's strategy tends, therefore, to be mirrored by the large charities and to influence the priorities of industry.

The Government, through the Medical Research Council, supports a large amount of basic research which underpins the more focused work into specific diseases.  In 1996-97, for example, it spent £63.5 million on the study of molecules and cells, £39.8 million on the study of genetics and health and £55.6 million on the study of infections and immunity.