"The comparative effectiveness of cancer treatments - an RD approach"

As part of the research seminar, Prof. Lorens A. Helmchen speeks about treatment of localized prostate cancer which is well established and consists primarily of expectant management (active surveillance) and definitive treatment (radical prostatectomy or radiation). Yet, the evidence to date of their comparative effectiveness relies primarily on randomized controlled trials, which suffer from small sample sizes and the self-selection of trial participants. Using clinical and claims data in a regression-discontinuity design, we estimate the causal effect of choosing definitive treatment on measures of health care use, cost, complications, recurrence, and survival.