Abstract
Objectives
Real-world evidence (RWE) plays an important role in addressing key research questions
of interest to healthcare decision makers. Federated data networks (FDNs) apply novel
technology to enable the conduct of RWE studies with multiple partners, without the
need to share the individual partner’s data set. A systematic review of the published
literature was performed to determine which types of research questions can best be
addressed through FDNs, specifically in the field of oncology.
Methods
Systematic searches of MEDLINE and Embase were undertaken to identify the types of
research questions that had been addressed in studies using FDNs. Additional information
was retrieved about study characteristics, statistical methods, and the FDN itself.
Results
In total, 40 publications were included where research questions on the following
had been addressed (multiple categories possible): disease natural history (58%),
safety surveillance (18%), treatment pathways (15%), comparative effectiveness (10%),
and cost/resource use studies (3%)—13% of studies had to be left uncategorized. A
total of 50% of the studies were run with data partners in networks of ≤5. The size
of the networks ranged from 227 patients to >5 million patients. Statistical methods
used included distributed learning and distributed regression methods.
Conclusions
Further work is needed to raise awareness of the important role that FDNs can play
in leveraging readily available RWE to address key research questions of interest
in cancer and the benefits to the research community in engaging in federated data
initiatives with a long-term perspective.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 22, 2021
Accepted:
November 14,
2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 ISPOR - The professional society for health economics and outcomes research. Published by Elsevier Inc.
