The Economics of Cancer

Cancer care is a major element of all health systems, in England alone accounting for over £5billion of public expenditure annually. Yet a recent National Audit Office report indicated that we do not know enough about how that money is spent and whether it is spent wisely and for the benefit of patients. There is therefore a pressing need for more evidence about the costs and effectiveness of cancer care. However, the extent of economic analysis of cancer is relatively modest in the UK, with little sustained funding and few centres of expertise. Its impact on cancer research, clinical practice and government policy has therefore been limited. Thus far economic research has been hampered by a lack of data linking the processes, outcomes and costs of individual cancer care. However, richer datasets are now becoming available, opening up the potential for new types of economic analysis with which to inform practice and policy. On the 28th of October 2011 a workshop was held to explore the extent of existing research into the economics of cancer, the barriers to greater involvement of economists, and the priorities for future collaborative work and research.

The presentations from this workshop can be seen below.

See the Economics of Cancer workshop brochure.