Summary
Currently, real-world oncology data with the clinical depth and recency necessary to conduct rigorous pharmacoepidemiology studies is limited in Europe. The objective of this study was to identify cohorts of patients with cancer in Germany and UK for prospective longitudinal observational studies, define curation of variables and outcomes for harmonization across countries, and to describe the prevalence rates for positive biomarker test results here.
The identified cohort included more than a thousand patients in Germany and the UK, and specifically identified the prevalence of biomarker status of patients with breast and lung cancer. Patient characteristics were representative of national cancer statistics in each country. The study reports prevalence rates of biomarker positive results (as a % of those tested) including EGFR, PDL1, KRAS, HER2, ER, and PR.
The results of this research were consistent with expectations, clinical practice, or previously published EU findings. The resulting datasets are designed to be fit-for-purpose for oncology treatment comparative-effectiveness research and pooling across countries, opening doors for further research.
Why this matters
Given limited availability of oncology RWD in Europe, identifying new patient cohorts is critical for further pharmacoepidemiology studies. Using Flatiron’s HorizonDB, consisting of 3.8 million patients electronic health record (EHR)-derived data from around the globe including the US, Germany, UK, and Japan, resulted in a fit-for-purpose dataset for potential use in comparative-effectiveness research across countries.