Leeds Beckett University research highlights overlooked economic burden of cancer on patients and UK economy

The findings show that the UK economy loses between £7.6-11.6 billion each year in paid productivity due to lives cut short by cancer. Additional losses stem from people being unable to work due to treatment side effects or advanced disease - estimated at another £1-1.7 billion and £4-4.5 billion is provided through informal, unpaid care by family members and friends.

Professor Laura Ashley, a co-author of the report and Professor of Health Psychology at Leeds Beckett University, emphasised the urgent need to understand and address the real costs borne by patients: "When we spoke to patients about the review findings, they felt current research doesn’t give the full picture. For those who bear the highest costs, the data reveals only the tip of the iceberg. Long-term income loss and broader family financial impacts are rarely captured in existing studies."

Patients report out-of-pocket costs ranging from travel and childcare to heating, prescriptions, wigs, and therapy. These vary greatly based on cancer type, age, income, and location. We are now calling for more targeted research to uncover how these economic pressures differ across the population.

The report also highlights that in the final year of life, cancer-related NHS costs can reach up to £17,799 per patient. Increasing integration between palliative care and cancer services, and shifting more care into communities, could not only improve patients' quality of life but also help reduce health service spending.

Leeds Beckett researchers contributed significantly to the report's exploration of patient-experienced costs, revealing major gaps in data on how cancer economically impacts individuals and families - especially in the long term.

While early detection and prevention have clear clinical benefits, the report shows they also make strong economic sense. One example is the lung cancer screening programme trialled in the Leeds Lung Health Check and later rolled out nationally. The initiative, led by the University of Leeds and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust with support from Yorkshire Cancer Research, has already shown a reduction in late-stage cancer diagnoses, particularly in deprived communities.

Lead author Dr Katie Spencer, Associate Professor and Honorary Consultant Clinical Oncologist in the School of Medicine at the University of Leeds, said: "This report shows that by increasing our focus on preventing cancer, or in some cases catching it early before it spreads, we can not only increase survival but also reduce costs. Strategies should focus on reducing smoking and addressing obesity as the main preventable risk factors for cancer."

As the government prepares to release its national cancer plan, the researchers behind the report are urging decision-makers to act. Among the key recommendations:

• Prevention and early diagnosis should be prioritised to save both lives and money
• Investment in integrated and local services can improve patient care and reduce NHS costs
• Better data collection and linkage is needed to guide future research and policy
• More funding must be directed toward understanding patient-borne costs and addressing socioeconomic inequalities

The research team are now focused on a follow-up project to examine how cancer-related costs differ across diverse communities and patient groups: "We must understand these inequalities so we can better support patients, design equitable policy responses, and reduce the long-term economic drag cancer places on our society."

The Cost of Cancer report was led by the University of Leeds, with contributions from Leeds Beckett University, the University of Edinburgh, Queen's University Belfast, the Leeds Cancer Centre, and the University of York.