BackgroundEconomic analyses based on clinical trial data are costly and time consuming, and alternative methods for performing economic analyses should be explored.Objective and methodsIn this perspective, we examine the emerging role of administrative data for economic analyses in cancer.ResultsCompared with routinely collected clinical trial data, routinely collected administrative data have several strengths including high capture rates for healthcare encounters, less resource utilisation, low rates of misclassification, long follow-up periods and the opportunity to collect data points not traditionally captured in clinical trials. However, there are also limitations including the need for accurate data linkage across multiple databases and systems, the costs and time associated with data linkage, the potential time lag between trial data collection and the availability of administrative data, and limited data on quality of life, toxicity and indirect costs. In this perspective, we identify important barriers and potential solutions to performing economic analyses for oncology using administrative data, and outline strategies to increase research in this field.ConclusionThe use of routinely collected administrative data sets for economic analyses of clinical trials presents a unique opportunity that could complement and validate economic analyses based on trial-level data.