The co-existence of one or more chronic health conditions (comorbidities) is common in cancer survivors, with >90% suffering from at least one comorbidity, and approximately 70% suffering multimorbidity (≥2 comorbidities). Prevalence of comorbidity in cancer survivors is higher than cancer-free controls and is associated with premature mortality, morbidity, and higher rates of health service utilisation.
Big data offers significant opportunities to understand the burden of multimorbidity in the context of cancer in the real world that can inform policy and practice and address the gap in evidence due to exclusion of patients with multimorbidity from many clinical trials.
This presentation will examine available data sources, novel research methodologies, as well as data limitations and priorities for data developments to inform this field.