Estimated Cost of Cancer

Nature news has this piece on a recent study on the global costs of cancer over the next 30 years.  A sample from the news item.

The total cost of cancer to the global economy will reach 25.2 trillion international dollars between 2020 and 2050, according to an analysis of 29 cancers across 204 countries. Of that, five types of cancer will account for roughly half of that cost.

....The analysis estimates that, without further investment in research and prevention, cancer will cost the global economy an accumulated Int$25.2 trillion in health-care costs, lost labour and spent savings over the next 30 years. That is equivalent to an annual tax on global domestic product over 30 years that exceeds the value of all goods and services exported from China, the world’s largest economy.

Although three-quarters of deaths caused by cancer occur in low- and middle-income countries, the analysis found that more than half of the global cost of cancer will occur in high-income countries, with China and the United States bearing the highest burdens. This is partly due to their large populations, but also to the high cost of health care in the United States.

Cheers, 

Colin