Applying evidence from economic evaluations to translate cancer survivorship research into care

This paper summarizes recommendations stemming from the meeting, Applying Evidence from Economic Evaluations to Translate Cancer Survivorship Research into Care, hosted by the National Cancer Institute.

The meeting convened funded investigators, experts in cancer control, survivorship, health economics, and team science to identify the economic and health services data needed to facilitate the dissemination of cancer survivorship interventions into care and how survivorship and health economic investigators can successfully collaborate together and with other stakeholders.

Recommendations from the meeting are as follows. First, investigators must engage key stakeholders early in the planning process to understand the outcomes and cost domains on which they base decisions. Second, evaluations of intervention efficacy and value should be conducted using standardized and comparable measures and analytic approaches to enable comparisons across studies. Finally, a health economist should be included during the planning phase of the study so that the economic evaluation is pursued in concert with the survivorship intervention.

Economic analyses, from the perspective of key stakeholders, must be incorporated into survivorship intervention research. The results from these analyses should be disseminated in a manner that is transparent, accessible, and comparable across studies.

To optimize cancer survivors' health and quality of life, it is essential deliver high-quality and high-value care. Incorporating economic analyses into survivorship intervention research can inform the translation of effective interventions into practice.