Federal funding of endoscopic research in the United States: 1972-2002

Background: Funding for research is critical to the determination of appropriate applications for endoscopy in clinical practice. We sought to evaluate trends in funding provided by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for endoscopic research from 1972 through 2002. Methods: The NIH database of funded biomedical projects for the years 1972 through 2002 was searched using the Computerized Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects (CRISP) and the keyword "endoscopy." Grants were included if a start date, title, and/or specific aims were available. Grants were classified as primary endoscopy if the title or specific aim had an endoscopy focus. Endoscopy funding was compared with other nonendoscopic funding for the same period. Results: From 1972 through 2002, 133 endoscopy-related grant applications were funded and 98 met inclusion criteria. Funding for endoscopic research increased from one grant (1972-1982) to 4 grants (1983-1992) to 93 grants (1993-2002), a 2325% increase for the 1993-2002 decade alone. Despite this increase, there were substantially fewer funded endoscopy-related applications compared with liver disease (61,804 grants), Helicobacter pylori (866 grants), and cardiac catheterization (1547 grants). Among endoscopic grants, colorectal cancer projects accounted for the largest portion (34%), followed by advanced optical technologies (18%) and Barrett's esophagus(17%). Conclusions: Funding for endoscopic research by the NIH has increased dramatically over the past 30 years, but it still lags behind funding in other fields. Projects focused on colorectal cancer, Barrett's esophagus, and optical technologies were most common among those funded, and the National Cancer Institute was the primary source of funding.