Pharmacoepidemiological Evaluation in Prostate Cancer—Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

摘要

Pharmacoepidemiologic research provides opportunities to evaluate how commonly used drug groups, such as cholesterol-lowering drugs, may affect the prostate cancer risk or mortality. However, such studies need to be carefully designed in order to avoid biases caused by systematic differences between medication users and non-users. Similarly, data must be carefully analyzed and interpreted while acknowledging possible biases that can lead to erroneous conclusions. Here, we review common pitfalls in such studies and describe ways to avoid them in an effort to aid future research.