Real world evidence in priority setting and health care planning: an application on the cost of cancer

Abstract

The overall aim of this thesis is to explore how real-world evidence can be used to support priority setting and planning in the cancer care. The thesis includes four published papers in which data from Norwegian health registries are used to study management of cancer, resource use and costs. In Paper 1, health care costs are estimated to NOK 21 billion, while lost productivity and the value of lost health amount to NOK 28 and 180 billion, respectively. The results from Paper II indicate that the treatment costs are highest during the initial treatment phase and in the terminal phase. Paper III examines the use of anti-cancer drugs end-of-life and provide evidence that fewer patients receive such treatment in Norway compared with other countries. The analyses in Paper IV shows that most of the gender differences in treatment costs end-of-life can be explained by differences in the type of cancer, age, and place of death. The four included papers demonstrate in various ways how real-world evidence can support health economic analyzes, which can provide information to support efficient and fair distribution of resources.