Cancer Policy Research

Cancer is a major cause of serious illness, premature deaths, financial toxicity for individuals, and enormous health system spending, in the United States and across the world. Together with HPI fellows, HPI researchers Drs. Lu, Ross-Degnan, Stout, Wagner, Wharam and Zhang generate knowledge about cancer care access, use, quality, outcomes and spending related to policies along the cancer care continuum from screening to diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship and end of life care. Analyses have assessed regulatory and reimbursement policy impacts and disparities resulting from such policies in the United States and other countries. Methods expertise includes analysis of large electronic health databases using quasi-experimental study designs and decision-analytic modeling. The group is internationally known for its expertise in interrupted time series analysis and its leadership of six Cancer Intervention and Surveillance modeling Network (CISNET) breast cancer simulation models by Dr. Natasha Stout.  HPI faculty co-lead the departmental-wide Center for Cancer Policy and Program Evaluation (CarPE).

Funders of cancer research include the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Aging, PCORI, the HMS Deans Award/Ariadne Labs, the DPM (Faculty Grant, Ebert Award, Pyle Fellowship), external organizations supporting HPI fellows (the China Scholarship Council, the Erwin Schrodinger Scholarship, the Swiss National Science Foundation, and the Thailand Research Fund).

Selected Publications

Use of Palliative Care Among Commercially Insured Patients With Metastatic Cancer Between 2001 and 2016

Real-world Use of and Spending on New Oral Targeted Cancer Drugs in the US, 2011-2018

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Breast Cancer Mortality in the US: Estimates From Collaborative Simulation Modeling

Vulnerable And Less Vulnerable Women In High-Deductible Health Plans Experienced Delayed Breast Cancer Care