Oncology treatments are becoming increasingly expensive, thus jeopardizing the sustainability of health systems and care survivors need. Often drug funding decisions are based on evaluations of evidence from clinical trials and predictive modelling, which may not reflect the effectiveness, safety, cost-effectiveness, and budget impact of treatment use in the real world. 

Evidence of how well a treatment works outside the strict regimens of a clinical trial can give policy-makers a better indication of its true value in delivering expected outcomes, including value for money. Real-world evidence on a drug’s performance also includes evidence from patient populations that may not have access to clinical trials, thus making results more representative of the Canadian population.