{"title":"Introduction to the Supplement: Is Now the Time for the Future of Cancer Economics Research?","authors":"Michael T Halpern","doi":"10.1093/jncimonographs/lgab017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jncimonographs/lgab017","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The National Cancer Institute's Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences hosted a virtual conference, The Future of Cancer Health Economics Research, in December 2020. This conference brought together a multidisciplinary group of researchers and other stakeholders interested in supporting and developing the field of cancer health economics research to help improve both patient outcomes and health-care systems. The introduction to the supplement describes the origins and planning for the conference and the conference sessions and presentations. The papers included in this supplement, arising from the conference sessions, help strengthened our understanding of what is cancer health economics research and how this field can provide even greater contributions in the future.</p>","PeriodicalId":73988,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Monographs","volume":" ","pages":"1-3"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9255926/pdf/lgab017.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40563559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Enhancing Health Equity Through Cancer Health Economics Research.","authors":"Cathy J Bradley, Kosali Simon, Karen Winkfield, Beverly Moy","doi":"10.1093/jncimonographs/lgab018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jncimonographs/lgab018","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cancer displays some of the largest health-equity concerns of all diseases. This paper draws attention to how health economics research can assess strategies to reduce or even eliminate health disparities and provides pivotal examples of existing research as well as areas for future contributions. The paper also highlights critical data limitations that currently restrain the impact health economics research could have. We then explore new areas of inquiry where economic research is sparse but could have an important impact on health equity, particularly in topics involving Medicare and Medicaid policies that expand reimbursement and generosity of coverage. Health economics studies are notably absent from policies and practices surrounding clinical trials, representing an opportunity for future research. We urge health economics researchers to consider experiments, interventions, and assessments through primary data collection; we further encourage the formulation of multidisciplinary teams to ensure that health economics skills are well melded with other areas of expertise. These teams are needed to maximize novelty and rigor of evidence. As policies are promulgated to address disparities in cancer, involvement of economics in a multidisciplinary context can help ensure that these policies do not have unintended impacts that may deepen inequities.</p>","PeriodicalId":73988,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Monographs","volume":" ","pages":"74-78"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9609252/pdf/lgab018.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40563558","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Janet S de Moor, Courtney P Williams, Victoria S Blinder
{"title":"Cancer-Related Care Costs and Employment Disruption: Recommendations to Reduce Patient Economic Burden as Part of Cancer Care Delivery.","authors":"Janet S de Moor, Courtney P Williams, Victoria S Blinder","doi":"10.1093/jncimonographs/lgac006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jncimonographs/lgac006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cancer survivors are frequently unprepared to manage the out-of-pocket (OOP) costs associated with undergoing cancer treatment and the potential for employment disruption. This commentary outlines a set of research recommendations stemming from the National Cancer Institute's Future of Health Economics Research Conference to better understand and reduce patient economic burden as part of cancer care delivery. Currently, there are a lack of detailed metrics and measures of survivors' OOP costs and employment disruption, and data on these costs are rarely available at the point of care to guide patient-centered treatment and survivorship care planning. Future research should improve the collection of data about survivors' OOP costs for medical care, other cancer-related expenses, and experiences of employment disruption. Methods such as microcosting and the prospective collection of patient-reported outcomes in cancer care are needed to understand the true sum of cancer-related costs taken on by survivors and caregivers. Better metrics and measures of survivors' costs must be coupled with interventions to incorporate that information into cancer care delivery and inform meaningful communication about OOP costs and employment disruption that is tailored to different clinical situations. Informing survivors about the anticipated costs of their cancer care supports informed decision making and proactive planning to mitigate financial hardship. Additionally, system-level infrastructure should be developed and tested to facilitate screening to identify survivors at risk for financial hardship, improve communication about OOP costs and employment disruption between survivors and their health-care providers, and support the delivery of appropriate financial navigation services.</p>","PeriodicalId":73988,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Monographs","volume":" ","pages":"79-84"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9255940/pdf/lgac006.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40563560","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Health Economics Research in Cancer Treatment: Current Challenges and Future Directions.","authors":"James B Yu, Deborah Schrag, K Robin Yabroff","doi":"10.1093/jncimonographs/lgac009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jncimonographs/lgac009","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The National Cancer Institute Division of Cancer Control and Population Science hosted a virtual conference on the Future of Cancer Health Economics Research and included a presentation from a workgroup that considered current challenges and future directions in health economics research centered on cancer treatment. The workgroup identified 3 broad categories of focus: data limitations, opportunities for training for clinicians and health economists interested in collaboration, and the need for prospective economic study of cancer treatment. Within these areas of focus, the workgroup recommended the following: improvement of the availability of key economic measures in data available to researchers, creation of more comprehensive datasets robust to insurance type or coverage, development of cancer care health economics research-focused symposia, instituting clear mechanisms to support integration of economic analyses alongside clinical trials, development of standardized methods to measure the cost of cancer care to health-care systems and patients, and development of standardized evaluations that include measures of social determinants of health.</p>","PeriodicalId":73988,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Monographs","volume":"2022 59","pages":"51-56"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9671878","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Methods and Study Design for Cancer Health Economics Research: Summary of Discussions From a Breakout Session.","authors":"Henry J Henk, Ya-Chen Tina Shih, Bijan J Borah","doi":"10.1093/jncimonographs/lgac013","DOIUrl":"10.1093/jncimonographs/lgac013","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The legitimacy of findings from cancer health economics research depends on study design and methods. A breakout session, Methods and Study Design for Cancer Health Economics Research, was convened at the Future of Cancer Health Economics Research Conference to discuss 2 commonly used analytic tools for cancer health economics research: observational studies and decision-analytic modeling. Observational studies include analysis of data collected with the primary purpose of supporting economic evaluation or secondary use of data collected for another purpose. Modeling studies develop a parametrized structure, such as a decision tree, to estimate hypothetical impact. Whereas observational studies focus on what has happened and why, modeling studies address what may happen. We summarize the discussion at this breakout session, focusing on 3 key elements of high-quality cancer health economics research: study design, analytical methods, and addressing uncertainty.</p>","PeriodicalId":73988,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Monographs","volume":"2022 59","pages":"95-101"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9255929/pdf/lgac013.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9749555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Donatus U Ekwueme, Michael T Halpern, Harrell W Chesson, Mahima Ashok, Jeffrey Drope, Young-Rock Hong, Michael Maciosek, Michael F Pesko, Donald S Kenkel
{"title":"Health Economics Research in Primary Prevention of Cancer: Assessment, Current Challenges, and Future Directions.","authors":"Donatus U Ekwueme, Michael T Halpern, Harrell W Chesson, Mahima Ashok, Jeffrey Drope, Young-Rock Hong, Michael Maciosek, Michael F Pesko, Donald S Kenkel","doi":"10.1093/jncimonographs/lgac014","DOIUrl":"10.1093/jncimonographs/lgac014","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In the past 2 decades, the demand for information on health economics research to guide health care decision making has substantially increased. Studies have provided evidence that eliminating or reducing tobacco use; eating a healthy diet, including fruit and vegetables; being physically active; reducing alcohol consumption; avoiding ultraviolet radiation; and minimizing exposure to environmental and occupational carcinogenic agents should substantially reduce cancer incidence in the population. The benefits of these primary prevention measures in reducing cancer incidence are not instantaneous. Therefore, health economics research has an important role to play in providing credible information to decision makers on the health and economic benefits of primary prevention. This article provides an overview of health economics research related to primary prevention of cancer. We addressed the following questions: 1) What are the gaps and unmet needs for performing health economics research focused on primary prevention of cancer? 2) What are the challenges and opportunities to conducting health economics research to evaluate primary prevention of cancer? and 3) What are the future directions for enhancing health economics research on primary prevention of cancer? Modeling primary prevention of cancer is often difficult given data limitations, long delays before the policy or intervention is effective, possible unintended effects of the policy or intervention, and the necessity of outside expertise to understand key inputs or outputs to the modeling. Despite these challenges, health economics research has an important role to play in providing credible information to decision makers on the health and economic benefits of primary prevention of cancer.</p>","PeriodicalId":73988,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Monographs","volume":"2022 59","pages":"28-41"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9609253/pdf/lgac014.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10275984","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ya-Chen Tina Shih, Lindsay M Sabik, Natasha K Stout, Michael T Halpern, Joseph Lipscomb, Scott Ramsey, Debra P Ritzwoller
{"title":"Health Economics Research in Cancer Screening: Research Opportunities, Challenges, and Future Directions.","authors":"Ya-Chen Tina Shih, Lindsay M Sabik, Natasha K Stout, Michael T Halpern, Joseph Lipscomb, Scott Ramsey, Debra P Ritzwoller","doi":"10.1093/jncimonographs/lgac008","DOIUrl":"10.1093/jncimonographs/lgac008","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cancer screening has long been considered a worthy public health investment. Health economics offers the theoretical foundation and research methodology to understand the demand- and supply-side factors associated with screening and evaluate screening-related policies and interventions. This article provides an overview of health economic theories and methods related to cancer screening and discusses opportunities for future research. We review 2 academic disciplines most relevant to health economics research in cancer screening: applied microeconomics and decision science. We consider 3 emerging topics: cancer screening policies in national as well as local contexts, \"choosing wisely\" screening practices, and targeted screening efforts for vulnerable subpopulations. We also discuss the strengths and weaknesses of available data sources and opportunities for methodological research and training. Recommendations to strengthen research infrastructure include developing novel data linkage strategies, increasing access to electronic health records, establishing curriculum and training programs, promoting multidisciplinary collaborations, and enhancing research funding opportunities.</p>","PeriodicalId":73988,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Monographs","volume":"2022 59","pages":"42-50"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9255920/pdf/lgac008.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9749553","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Michael T Halpern, Sharon McCarthy, Priyanga Tuovinen
{"title":"Current State of Funded National Cancer Institute Grants That Include Economic Analyses.","authors":"Michael T Halpern, Sharon McCarthy, Priyanga Tuovinen","doi":"10.1093/jncimonographs/lgac002","DOIUrl":"10.1093/jncimonographs/lgac002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Health economics research is an integral part of the transdisciplinary research supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). To better understand NCI activities in this area, we conducted a portfolio analysis of funded NCI grants including health economics research.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We examined all competitive grants funded by NCI from fiscal years 2015 to 2020 that included economic analyses or outcomes. Grant titles, abstracts, and specific aims were independently reviewed by 2 study team members; content of included grants was then coded for analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total 212 grants were identified from searches; 146 of these included economic analyses and were included in the portfolio analysis. These 146 grants represent approximately 0.9% of all NCI competitively funded grants awarded 2015-2020. Of these grants, 100 were R01 awards, representing approximately 2.4% of all NCI R01 grants funded 2015-2020. The most common study type was interventional randomized controlled-trial, followed by simulation or model. Screening and prevention were the most frequent grant cancer continuum topic; survivorship was included in only 16 grants (11.0%). Cost-effectiveness analysis was the most frequently listed economic outcome (97 grants, 66.4%), whereas policy impact (20 grants, 13.7%) and financial hardship (15 grants, 10.3%) were less-frequently included economic outcomes. However, economic outcomes differed by cancer control continuum topic, with financial hardship being included in a greater proportion of treatment and survivorship grants.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Although relatively small, the NCI portfolio of funded grants including economic analyses is diverse, covering a range of cancer types, methods, and economic outcomes, and increasing over time.</p>","PeriodicalId":73988,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Monographs","volume":" ","pages":"4-11"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9255945/pdf/lgac002.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40471143","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Fostering Transdisciplinary Collaborations in Cancer Health Economics Research.","authors":"James B Yu","doi":"10.1093/jncimonographs/lgac001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jncimonographs/lgac001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Health economics research, defined as research that evaluates how patients, health-care providers, and governments make health-care decisions using economic theory, models, and empirical techniques, requires broad domains of knowledge that are not fully encompassed by a single discipline. Collaboration between disciplines provides different perspectives on problems, creates more comprehensive research questions, allows for more complex understanding of multifaceted determinants and processes, and thus, provides more realistic recommendations to address difficult questions of health economics. Realizing the importance of collaboration, the National Cancer Institute virtual conference on the Future of Cancer Health Economics included an interactive panel exploring how to foster effective collaborations in cancer health economics research. This manuscript summarizes the panel and participants' discussion regarding the value, barriers, and potential facilitators to transdisciplinary collaboration within health economics research.</p>","PeriodicalId":73988,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Monographs","volume":" ","pages":"85-88"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40584221","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Michael T Halpern, Joseph Lipscomb, K Robin Yabroff
{"title":"Cancer Health Economics Research: The Future Is Now.","authors":"Michael T Halpern, Joseph Lipscomb, K Robin Yabroff","doi":"10.1093/jncimonographs/lgac005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jncimonographs/lgac005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The goals of the \"Future of Cancer Health Economics Research\" virtual conference were to identify challenges, gaps, and unmet needs for conducting cancer health economics research; and develop suggestions and ideas to address these challenges and to support the development of this field. The conference involved multiple presentations and panels featuring several key themes, including data limitations and fragmentation; improving research methods; role and impacts of structural and policy factors; and the transdisciplinary nature of this field. The conference also highlighted emerging areas such as communicating results with nonresearchers; balancing data accessibility and data security; emphasizing the needs of trainees; and including health equity as a focus in cancer health economics research. From this conference, it is clear that cancer health economics research can have substantial impacts on how cancer care is delivered and how related health-care policies are developed and implemented. To support further growth and development, this field should continue to welcome individuals from multiple disciplines and enhance opportunities for training in economics and in analytic methods and perspectives from across the social and clinical sciences. Researchers should continue to engage with diverse stakeholders throughout the cancer community, building collaborations and focusing on the goal of improving health and well-being.</p>","PeriodicalId":73988,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Monographs","volume":" ","pages":"102-106"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9609248/pdf/lgac005.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40471142","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}