Each year, more than 39,600 Victorians are diagnosed with cancer and around 12,000 die from the disease. Cancer Council Victoria initiatives like Quit, SunSmart and other key cancer prevention campaigns have proven results in regard to lives saved, with more than 230,000 lives saved thanks to cancer control measures implemented since about the 1960s. Given the breadth and complexity of cancer, we must be able to measure the benefits and cost effectiveness of our evidence-based programs like Quit and SunSmart to demonstrate value to stakeholders, secure ongoing funding, and identify opportunities to improve outcomes within limited budgets.
The Economics of Cancer Collaboration (EOCC) brings together Deakin University’s Health Economics team and Cancer Council Victoria to generate high quality research and inform cancer policy. Co-led by Associate Professor Nikki McCaffrey (Deakin University) and Todd Harper AM (CEO, Cancer Council Victoria), the collaboration evaluates the economic impact and cost effectiveness of cancer screening, prevention, treatment and support services. By comparing costs and benefits and applying tools such as cost of illness and predictive modelling, the EOCC provides critical economic evidence to governments, funders and service providers, helping sustain investment in cancer care despite ongoing budget constraints.
“By using strong economic evidence, these initiatives show cost-effectiveness and societal benefits, such as better health, lower healthcare costs and productivity losses, and improved morbidity and mortality in Victoria and beyond,” said Associate Professor McCaffrey. “The scalability and translatability of these findings underscore their potential to further inform national strategies and inspire more valuable cancer care research.”
The EOCC provides essential economic evidence to state and national governments, philanthropists and service providers, which has proven crucial for sustaining funding in cancer care amidst budget limitations.
The Economics of Cancer Collaboration is estimated to have potentially saved more than 52,000 life years, and $179 million in healthcare costs over the lifetime of Australians.
Current collaborations between Cancer Council Victoria and Deakin University
These are a few examples of the projects we're currently collaborating on. You can find out more in the booklet linked below.
| Project Title |
Organisation Leads |
Abstract |
| Australian Health and History |
A/Prof. Carolyn Holbrook (Deakin University) and Dr Thomas Kehoe (Cancer Council Victoria) |
This project aims to preserve, integrate, and activate Australia’s cancer control history to inform and strengthen contemporary public health practice. By collecting, digitising, and curating scattered historical records and embedding them within public health frameworks, the project seeks to make this knowledge accessible and usable for researchers, advocates, policymakers, educators, and the public—ensuring lessons from the past can directly support better decision‑making and equity‑focused cancer control in the present and future.
|
Defining and optimising the economic and social return on investment of telephone cancer information
and support services for all Australians |
Nikki McCaffrey (Deakin University) & Danielle Spence (Cancer Council Victoria) |
This project aims to generate robust economic and social evidence on the value of Cancer Council Victoria’s oncology nurse-led telephone support line (13 11 20) by applying a Social Return on Investment framework. It seeks to quantify the benefits for patients, carers, and the wider community to inform future funding, service delivery, and investment decisions. |
| Assessing and addressing impacts of marketing claims on toddler food products. |
Helen Dixon (Cancer Council Victoria) and Jennifer McCann (Deakin University) |
This project examines how marketing claims on toddler foods shape parents’ perceptions, purchasing decisions, and support for regulation. Using experimental and qualitative methods, it shows that “free from” claims increase the appeal of unhealthy products and identifies effective messages to build support for stronger regulation of toddler food marketing. |
| Economics of Skin Cancer Prevention |
Emma Glassenbury (Cancer Council Victoria) and Nikki McCaffrey (Deakin Health Economics) |
This project aims to quantify the current and future economic burden of skin cancer in Victoria and assess the cost‑effectiveness of key prevention and early detection strategies, including SunSmart and GP dermoscopy training. By generating robust economic evidence, it seeks to inform resource allocation, support sustained funding, and advocate for equitable, cost‑saving approaches to reducing skin cancer burden. |
| #DigitalYouth |
Kathryn Backholer (Deakin University) and Jane Martin (Cancer Council Victoria) |
This project aims to accurately measure children’s and young people’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing online using the AI‑powered SCANNER system, addressing a key evidence gap that has limited policy action. By generating objective, scalable data on digital marketing exposure, it seeks to support stronger regulation, policy monitoring, and protections for young people in online environments. |
| iCare – iCare an interactive online portal for people living with upper gastrointestinal or hepato-pancreato-biliary cancer and their carers |
Co-Principal Investigators Prof Trish Livingston & Prof Vicki White (Deakin University) |
This project aims to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, preliminary effectiveness, and cost‑effectiveness of iCare, an online supportive care program for people with upper GI and hepato‑pancreato‑biliary cancers and their carers. It seeks to determine whether iCare can improve quality of life, reduce unmet needs and carer burden, and provide a scalable, cost‑effective model of supportive care for this underserved patient group.
|
| The economic value of increasing access to timely supportive and palliative care in Victoria through optimal cancer care pathways |
Nikki McCaffrey (Deakin University) and Cancer Council Victoria |
Supported through Cancer Research Fellowships Victoria this project examines the economic and service impact of increasing timely access to supportive and palliative care in line with Victoria’s Optimal Cancer Care Pathways. Using linked population data, it identifies gaps between recommended and actual care in the last year of life and models the value‑for‑money benefits of earlier, guideline‑concordant care to inform cancer and palliative care policy in Victoria. |
For more information visit Deakin University Economics of Cancer Collaboration or download this booklet to find out more about Cancer Council Victoria and Deakin University's current collaborations.
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