OBJECTIVES: Cancer is the most common cause of mortality in England and Wales. This study investigated whether the number of technologies assessed by NICE for a specific cancer reflects its prevalence in England and Wales METHODS: were obtained from the GLOBOCAN database. Clinicaltrials.gov was searched for phase 3 trials for the cancers from 2005 to 2015; the NICE website was searched for technology appraisals concerning the cancers for the same period. RESULTS: Breast cancer (BC; prevalence, 174.1 per 10) had the greatest number of phase 3 clinical trials (n=333) and NICE assessments (n=10) in the period; three assessments resulted in recommendations. Prostate cancer (PC), having a similar prevalence to BC (162.5 per 10), had 60% fewer phase 3 trials (n=133) and 50% fewer NICE assessments (n=5), but also resulted in three recommendations. Multiple myeloma (MM; prevalence, 6.2 per 10) was the subject of a disproportionately high number of phase 3 trials (n=98) and NICE assessments (n=4); three assessments resulted in recommendations. In contrast, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, having a higher prevalence than MM (15.4 per 10) was the subject of only 40 phase 3 trials and 4 NICE assessments; three resulted in recommendations. Myelofibrosis and pancreatic cancer, each having a prevalence of <5 per 10, were the subject of 11 and 25 phase 3 trials, respectively. One NICE assessment was performed for an intervention for myelofibrosis and had a negative outcome. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that while the number of NICE assessments undertaken reflects the number of phase 3 trials performed in a given cancer, there is a mismatch between the number of assessments and the prevalence of specific cancers in the UK. Further research is warranted to investigate whether a similar mismatch is evident in other countries.