Real-world data has become integral to sarcoma research
Researchers’ confidence is growing, but the quality of the data generated may still represent a challenge
What role for real-world evidence in cancer research?
With the growing use of real-world evidence (RWE) to support regulatory approvals of new anti-cancer medicines in Europe and the USA, can this type of research ensure greater inclusion of women, the elderly, diverse ethnic groups, those with rare cancers and other under-represented populations in oncology studies?
Real-world research does not need to replace randomised clinical trials to be recognised as valuable for treatment evaluation
According to Prof. Urania Dafni, high quality real-world evidence can provide broader information and more generalisable conclusions to verify the clinical applicability of evidence from RCTs
Should we invest more in registry data?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, real-world data have shown they can support clinical decision-making in complex situations but extensive bureaucracy is still a limiting factor
There is a growing place for real-world evidence in medical journals
However, researchers’ concerns about missing opportunities to publish their real-world evidence-based papers in high-ranked scientific journals are justified to some extent due to lack of ‘best practices’ from publishers and suitable peer reviewers for these study designs