Funding for Research Areas

The National Cancer Institute reports how appropriated funds are spent based on different categories or classifications, including specific cancer sites, cancer types, diseases related to cancer, as well as types of NCI research mechanisms. The table below identifies funding levels for frequently requested areas of cancer research.

The research areas in this table do not represent the entire NCI research portfolio. Moreover, funding for research areas often overlap, and therefore the total for all research areas does not add to the total NCI budget. For example, funding for a clinical trial on breast cancer would be included in both the Breast Cancer and the Clinical Trials lines in the table below. Similarly, a basic cancer research project may be relevant to cervical, uterine, and ovarian cancers, and relevant amounts would be included in the amounts for all three areas of cancer research.

Download Table Data

Funding by Research Areas
(Dollars in Millions)
Disease Area FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017
Total NCI Budget $5,067.3 $4,789.0 $4,932.4 $4,952.6 $5,206.2 $5,636.4
AIDS 271.7 261.6 269.2 269.7 266.4 249.0
Brain & CNS 177.5 176.8 180.4 204.8 196.3 219.8
Breast Cancer 602.9 559.2 528.5 543.6 519.9 545.1
Cervical Cancer 72.6 63.5 71.1 57.1 65.6 68.0
Clinical Trials 753.7 676.5 749.8 748.0 801.0 806.6
Colorectal Cancer 256.3 239.0 223.0 209.3 212.2 208.4
Head & Neck Cancers 71.1 40.6 57.1 60.2 58.9 63.6
Hodgkin Disease 15.6 14.7 15.4 13.6 12.8 13.0
Leukemia 234.7 235.3 236.7 246.9 241.0 250.5
Liver Cancer 64.6 64.5 60.0 70.3 75.7 72.7
Lung Cancer 315.1 287.6 254.1 255.8 283.8 320.6
Melanoma 121.2 122.7 126.2 132.8 142.9 153.2
Multiple Myeloma 61.3 45.5 46.6 48.9 52.1 60.7
Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma 119.5 113.9 118.0 122.4 116.7 119.5
Ovarian Cancer 111.7 101.0 91.5 92.8 95.6 109.8
Pancreatic Cancer 105.4 102.0 122.4 125.3 152.6 178.3
Prostate Cancer 265.1 256.3 217.8 228.9 241.0 233.0
Stomach Cancer 12.1 11.2 11.3 13.5 13.3 13.4
Uterine Cancer 19.1 17.9 15.5 13.0 16.8 17.5

The figures in this table were created using NCI's coding methodology. More information about this methodology, as well as the research projects associated with these and other disease area categories, are available on the NCI Funded Research Portfolio website.

The FY 2017 funds available to the NCI totaled $5,636.4 billion (includes $300 million in CURES Act funding), reflecting a increase of 7 percent, or $368 million from the previous fiscal year. Under the NCI RPG funding policy for FY 2017, non-competing grants were awarded at 100 percent of the committed level. For more information on NCI's grant funding policy, For more information on NCI's grant funding policy, visit the NCI Division of Extramural Activities website.

  • Posted: December 20, 2018