The 5 per mille and the fight against cancer

It was 2006 when Italia's legislature introduced the 5 per thousand on an experimental basis. A measure that was simple in form - a signature on the income tax return, a tax code - but profoundly innovative in substance: for the first time, taxpayers could indicate to which body they wanted to allocate a share of the IRPEF already due, without any additional cost. Twenty years later, we can say it with confidence: the 5 per thousand was a beautiful, all-Italian intuition, capable of transforming a tax fulfilment into an act of citizenship.

For those who work every day to support cancer research, the 5 per mille is in fact much more than a budget item. It is an infrastructure of trust. It is the way in which hundreds of thousands of people renew a silent but solid pact with those who, in laboratories and wards, every day shorten the distance between Research and Cure. In fact, it has become an engine for the Third Sector. The figures just published by the Inland Revenue Agency tell us that in 2025 our Foundation collected 286,934 signatures - 4% more than the previous year - for a total of over 14.3 million euros, 18% more than in 2024: second in the national ranking (after the AIRC Foundation). Those signatures are not abstract numbers, but translate into multi-year research projects on major cancer diseases (colon, lung, breast, melanomas, etc.), which without a stable economic base could not even be imagined. In the last twenty years, cancer research has changed profoundly: from genomics to molecular-targeted therapies, from immunotherapy to artificial intelligence. In order to keep up, the Candiolo Institute - IRCCS has to plan in the medium and long term, and the 5 per mille has allowed a continuity that public funding alone does not guarantee. In our centre, almost 300 Italian and international researchers work in 40 laboratories. Research projects of national and international excellence exist because every year someone chooses to sign up.

There is an important aspect that is often underestimated. The 5 per mille has helped build a shared culture. It has brought citizens who would never have thought of being involved in research closer to it, prompting them to inform themselves and check the impact of their choices. It has raised transparency for the entire Third Sector. It has shown that behind every clinical discovery there is a community that has chosen to believe in it. It has shown that it is credible and enjoys the trust of citizens.

Looking at the data, an encouraging picture emerges. At the national level, in 2025 the 5 per mille registered 18,460,316 signatures, about half a million more than in 2024 (+2.8%): a sign that the instrument continues to gain ground in collective awareness. The growing number of signatures year after year translates the consolidation of the 5 per mille in the actions of citizens.

There is still room for improvement on dissemination. Information campaigns, simplification of procedures and an institutional commitment are needed so that every citizen knows that that signature is free, immediate and decisive. But the path travelled over the past twenty years attests to the fact that the 5 per mille constitutes a pillar of collective trust that is continually on the rise, and that gains profound consensus when its true significance is understood.