Underfunded, Overperforming: Endometrial cancer leads basic and translational science publications per NCI dollar
6 affiliations
- 1University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- 2University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
- 3Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- 4California Pacific/Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Sutter Health, San Francisco, CA, USA
- 5University of Arizona, Phoenix, AZ, USA
- 6University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Corresponding author at: University of California, Los Angeles, 100 Medical Plaza, Suite 383, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Abstract
Objective: To compare relative research funding and basic and translational science publications for gynecologic cancers vs. other common cancers, normalized to incidence and mortality rates. Methods: SEER data were used to investigate incidence and deaths in the US from 2004 to 2024. Research funding was derived from National Cancer Institute (NCI) data. Google Scholar was utilized to identify oncology and medicine related journals with the highest H-indices. All abstracts on PubMed were reviewed and number of basic and translational science articles manually calculated. Results: In 2024, new diagnoses of breast, prostate, lung, and colorectal cancers totaled 313,510, 299,010, 234,580, and 152,810, respectively. Endometrial, ovarian, and cervical cancers accounted for 67,880, 19,680, and 13,820, respectively. NCI funding in 2023 was approximately $542.0 million for breast, $258.6 million for prostate, $435.0 million for lung, and $238.6 million for colorectal cancers, compared to $20.0 million, $132.0 million, and $20.7 million for endometrial, ovarian, and cervical cancers, respectively. Across the highest impact journals from 2004 to 2024, 24,169 basic/translational science publications were found: 8859 (breast), 4161 (prostate), 3537 (lung), 4321 (colorectal), 412 (endometrial), 2231 (ovarian), and 648 (cervical). When adjusted for incidence, ovarian cancer had the highest number of publications, at 220.9 publications per 100,000 cases. When adjusted for funding, endometrial cancer had the highest number of publications, at 23.1 publications per $1 million average annual NCI funding. Conclusion: Funding relative to disease burden varies considerably among gynecologic cancers. Endometrial cancer receives the lowest NCI funding of any cancer studied when adjusted by incidence and mortality. Despite this, endometrial cancer produced the most basic and translational science publications per dollar.
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BibTeX
@article{richardson2026underfunded,
title = {{Underfunded, Overperforming: Endometrial cancer leads basic and translational science publications per NCI dollar}},
author = {Michael T. Richardson and Anne Gallivan and Lily Zello and Miles Morrow and Daniel S. Kapp and John K. Chan and Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz and Dana M. Chase},
journal = {Gynecologic Oncology Reports},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1016/j.gore.2026.102244},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gore.2026.102244},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Underfunded, Overperforming: Endometrial cancer leads basic and translational science publications per NCI dollar
AU - Michael T. Richardson
AU - Anne Gallivan
AU - Lily Zello
AU - Miles Morrow
AU - Daniel S. Kapp
AU - John K. Chan
AU - Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz
AU - Dana M. Chase
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/08
JO - Gynecologic Oncology Reports
DO - 10.1016/j.gore.2026.102244
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gore.2026.102244
AB - Objective: To compare relative research funding and basic and translational science publications for gynecologic cancers vs. other common cancers, normalized to incidence and mortality rates. Methods: SEER data were used to investigate incidence and deaths in the US from 2004 to 2024. Research funding was derived from National Cancer Institute (NCI) data. Google Scholar was utilized to identify oncology and medicine related journals with the highest H-indices. All abstracts on PubMed were reviewed and number of basic and translational science articles manually calculated. Results: In 2024, new diagnoses of breast, prostate, lung, and colorectal cancers totaled 313,510, 299,010, 234,580, and 152,810, respectively. Endometrial, ovarian, and cervical cancers accounted for 67,880, 19,680, and 13,820, respectively. NCI funding in 2023 was approximately $542.0 million for breast, $258.6 million for prostate, $435.0 million for lung, and $238.6 million for colorectal cancers, compared to $20.0 million, $132.0 million, and $20.7 million for endometrial, ovarian, and cervical cancers, respectively. Across the highest impact journals from 2004 to 2024, 24,169 basic/translational science publications were found: 8859 (breast), 4161 (prostate), 3537 (lung), 4321 (colorectal), 412 (endometrial), 2231 (ovarian), and 648 (cervical). When adjusted for incidence, ovarian cancer had the highest number of publications, at 220.9 publications per 100,000 cases. When adjusted for funding, endometrial cancer had the highest number of publications, at 23.1 publications per $1 million average annual NCI funding. Conclusion: Funding relative to disease burden varies considerably among gynecologic cancers. Endometrial cancer receives the lowest NCI funding of any cancer studied when adjusted by incidence and mortality. Despite this, endometrial cancer produced the most basic and translational science publications per dollar.
SN - 2352-5789
ER -