Cancer research, the weight of taxpayers' choices

In Italia, there will be 362,100 new cancer diagnoses in 2025, according to Aiom and Airtum estimates presented to the Ministry of Health. The number of people living after an oncological diagnosis is 3.7 million; in men the incidence is decreasing, especially for prostate and lung, while in women it is still growing, driven by lung cancer as a deferred consequence of smoking.
50% of those who receive a cancer diagnosis today are cured: much has been done but there is still a lot to be done
Sixty years of research supported by AIRC have contributed to concrete results. Today, according to Aiom and Airtum data, about one in two of those diagnosed with cancer are cured and, over the last decade, oncological mortality in Italia has fallen by an average of 9%. The country also continues to record five-year survival rates above the European average for some of the most common forms of cancer, such as breast, colorectal, and lung. These are indicators that confirm how decisive investment in research is in making increasingly effective and targeted therapies available, especially in cases where treatment is still insufficient.

In clinical terms, Italia maintains a top position in Europe. The five-year survival rate for breast cancer is 89.5% against the EU average of 83% (Aiom 2025), with similar results for the other most common forms of cancer. These are important advances, which derive from the quality of the health service and the translational research that feeds it, but which could be improved if research could run more and better.
The weak point in the chain, however, is upstream. Italia invests 1.37% of GDP in research and development compared to an EU average of 2.24% (Eurostat 2024). National R&D expenditure, which grew to EUR 29.4 billion in 2023, is almost 60% private and depends largely on multinational groups.

Public funding for oncological research travels along three lines: the Prin calls of the Mur (1.162 billion in 2022), the Finalised Health Research of the Ministry of Health and the independent studies financed by Aifa. In addition to these, there is Mission 6 of the NRP to reach the European target set by the Eu Mission on Cancer: more than 3 million lives improved by 2030.
In this framework, the contribution of the non-profit sector is a far from marginal addition to the ecosystem of independent oncological research.

The 5x1000 and Airc's programmes on metastases
In their 2024 income tax returns, over 1.7 million taxpayers earmarked their 5x1000 to the Airc Foundation, translating their signatures into 72 million euros for oncological research (Agenzia delle Entrate). Added to the donations of 4.5 million supporters, those funds have made it possible to disburse over 142 million to 779 projects and scholarships in 2026: this is the main flow of non-profit funding to independent oncological research in Italia. The figure confirms the attention of taxpayers towards oncological research and the role of the 5x1000 in guaranteeing continuity to independent studies, selected for their merit, that contribute to progress in prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
In the last seven years Airc has invested over 141 million in eight special multi-unit programmes dedicated to the study of metastases, responsible for around 90% of cancer deaths.
The 5x1000-funded programmes have produced results on several fronts: from the prediction of response to immunotherapy through epigenetic signatures to therapeutic vaccines against resistance, to cell therapies for metastases and liquid biopsy to follow the evolution of the disease. In this model, the integration of different competences, the use of advanced technologies and the continuity of funding count, necessary conditions for transferring research results into clinical practice. With this in mind, AIRC has opened a new 5x1000 call, 'Tumor Complexity to Precision Oncology', with six-year programmes dedicated to some of the main challenges of contemporary oncology.
Alongside the special programmes, the 5x1000 funds to AIRC are supporting 500 individual projects this year with more than 65 million euros. These projects contribute to building an increasingly advanced and interconnected research ecosystem, creating fertile ground for the success of long-term special programmes. In sixty years of activity, AIRC has provided a total of EUR 2.7 billion in funding: today it supports a network of 5,000 scientists in 100 facilities across the country.
Airc's function, however, also goes beyond the narrow confines of research support. In fact, a Censis survey shows how the foundation, in 60 years of activity, has contributed to transforming the perception of cancer in Italian society, promoting confidence in research, a culture of prevention and collective participation.

The taxpayer's choice
Dedicating 5x1000 to Fondazione Airc is an important choice to support independent oncological research: these are studies that do not depend on the interests of the pharmaceutical industry and that are selected on merit through a rigorous international peer review process, the same adopted by the world's main funding agencies.
It is a choice that does not entail any additional cost for the supporter: just sign the box "Financing scientific research and universities" in your income tax return and indicate the tax code 80051890152. The progress of the funded programmes and the scientific results are constantly updated and can be consulted on the portal programmi5permille.airc.it.