Tor Åge Myklebust1, Therese Andersson2, Aude Bardot3, Sally Vernon4, Anna Gavin5, Deirdre Fitzpatrick5, Marianne Brenn Jerm6, Mark Rutherford7, D Maxwell Parkin8, Peter Sasieni9, Melina Arnold3, Isabelle Soerjomataram3, Freddie Bray3, Paul C Lambert10, Bjørn Møller6. 1. Cancer Registry of Norway, Department of Registration, P.O. Box 5313 Majorstuen, 0304 Oslo, Norway; Department of Research and Innovation, Møre and Romsdal Hospital Trust, Ålesund, Norway. Electronic address: tor.age.myklebust@kreftregisteret.no. 2. Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Box 281, SE-17177 Stockholm, Sweden. 3. Cancer Surveillance Section, International Agency for Research on Cancer), 150 Cours Albert Thomas, F-69372 Lyon Cedex 08, France. 4. National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service, Public Health England, Victoria House, CB21 5XA, Cambridge, UK. 5. Northern Ireland Cancer Registry, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Mulhouse Building, Grosvenor Road, Belfast, BT12 6DP, United Kingdom. 6. Cancer Registry of Norway, Department of Registration, P.O. Box 5313 Majorstuen, 0304 Oslo, Norway. 7. Cancer Surveillance Section, International Agency for Research on Cancer), 150 Cours Albert Thomas, F-69372 Lyon Cedex 08, France; Biostatistics Research Group, Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK. 8. Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom. 9. Kings College London, London, UK. 10. Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Box 281, SE-17177 Stockholm, Sweden; Biostatistics Research Group, Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Differences in registration practices across population-based cancer registries may contribute to international variation in survival estimates. In particular, there are variations in recorded date of incidence (DOI) as cancer registries have access to different sources of information and use different rules to determine an official DOI. This study investigates the impact of different DOI rules on cancer survival estimates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Detailed data on dates of pathological confirmation and hospital admittance were collected from three registries participating in the ICBP SURVMARK-2 project (England, Northern Ireland and Norway). Multiple dates of incidence were determined for each cancer patient diagnosed during 2010-2014 by applying three sets of rules that prioritize either: a) histological date, b) hospital admittance date or c) the earliest date recorded. For each set of rules and registry, 1- and 5-year net survival were estimated for eight cancer sites (oesophagus, stomach, colon, rectum, liver, pancreas, lung and ovary). RESULTS: The mean difference between different DOIs within a country and cancer site ranged from 0.1-23 days. The variation in 1- and 5-year net survival using different DOIs were generally small for all registries and cancer sites. Only for liver and pancreatic cancer in Norway and ovarian cancer in England, were larger 1-year survival differences, of 2-3 % found. CONCLUSION: In the ongoing discussion of the comparability of survival estimates across registry populations, the use of different DOI definitions can be considered to have a very limited impact.
BACKGROUND: Differences in registration practices across population-based cancer registries may contribute to international variation in survival estimates. In particular, there are variations in recorded date of incidence (DOI) as cancer registries have access to different sources of information and use different rules to determine an official DOI. This study investigates the impact of different DOI rules on cancer survival estimates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Detailed data on dates of pathological confirmation and hospital admittance were collected from three registries participating in the ICBP SURVMARK-2 project (England, Northern Ireland and Norway). Multiple dates of incidence were determined for each cancerpatient diagnosed during 2010-2014 by applying three sets of rules that prioritize either: a) histological date, b) hospital admittance date or c) the earliest date recorded. For each set of rules and registry, 1- and 5-year net survival were estimated for eight cancer sites (oesophagus, stomach, colon, rectum, liver, pancreas, lung and ovary). RESULTS: The mean difference between different DOIs within a country and cancer site ranged from 0.1-23 days. The variation in 1- and 5-year net survival using different DOIs were generally small for all registries and cancer sites. Only for liver and pancreatic cancer in Norway and ovarian cancer in England, were larger 1-year survival differences, of 2-3 % found. CONCLUSION: In the ongoing discussion of the comparability of survival estimates across registry populations, the use of different DOI definitions can be considered to have a very limited impact.