Digestive cancers: $24.1 billion [$9.5 billion cost of colorectal cancer, $4.3 billion cost for pancreatic cancer are included in the digestive cancers total] Liver disease: $13.1 billion Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD): $12.6 billion Gallstones: $6.2 billion Abdominal wall hernia: $6.1 billion Diverticular disease: $4.0 billion Pancreatitis: $3.7 billion Viral hepatitis (A, B, C): $3.3 billion Peptic ulcer disease: $3.1 billion Appendicitis: $2.6 billion

The Burden of Digestive Diseases in the United States is part of the National Commission on Digestive Diseases at the NIH. The AGA worked with our champions in Congress to propose the Commission, which was established to enhance research on digestive diseases for the benefit of patients and their families. The Commission has conducted an overview of the state of the science in digestive diseases research and is developing a 10-year plan for digestive diseases research. Implementing the recommendations of the National Commission on Digestive Diseases is one of the AGA's highest research priorities. AGA encourages NIH to convene an oversight body and to develop an estimated 'professional judgment budget' for implementation of the Commission's long-range plan for digestive disease research.

"This report quantifies the substantial and growing burden of digestive diseases on patients and our health- care system. There is a tremendous need for more research into the causes, diagnosis and treatment of digestive diseases," according to Robert S. Sandler, MD, AGAF, president of the AGA Institute. "At the same time, the report identifies conditions that are costly but understudied such as diverticular disease and appendicitis where there is a high burden but little research."

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