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Comparison of Cases Captured in the National Cancer Data Base with Those in Population-based Central Cancer Registries

  • Healthcare Policy and Outcomes
  • Published:
Annals of Surgical Oncology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

The National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) is a large, geographically diverse hospital-based cancer registry that has been used to study factors related to cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survival. The primary purpose of this study was to compare the case counts and characteristics of patients in NCDB with population-based registries reported in the United States Cancer Statistics (USCS).

Methods

Cancer case counts from NCDB were compared to case counts from USCS to measure NCDB’s case coverage, or the percentage of cases captured. Case coverage was examined by a variety of characteristics, including state of residence, race/ethnicity, age, and primary cancer site.

Results

The overall NCDB case coverage was 67.4 %, ranging from a high of 88.7 % for Delaware to a low of 27.1 % for Arizona. Case coverage for white, black, and Asian/Pacific Islander cases was high (64.7 % to 67.4 %), but it was much lower for American Indians/Alaskan Natives (32.8 %) and those of Hispanic ethnicity (51.1 %). Among the elderly (aged 65 + years), case coverage is much lower compared to persons younger than 65 (63.0 % and 73.0 %, respectively). Case coverage also varied widely by site, with the highest being cervix (77.9 %) and the lowest being melanoma (50.6 %).

Conclusions

This study highlights the geographic- and site-specific variation in NCDB case coverage, primarily as a result of NCDB facility presence and data collection and processing protocols. These findings illustrate the strengths and limitations of NCDB as a resource for nationwide data on cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survival.

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Acknowledgment

We thank Elizabeth Ward, Stacey Fedewa, and Katherine Virgo from the ACS’s Intramural Research Department for their help and guidance with this project. Supported in part by ACS Intramural Research funds.

Disclosure

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA

    Catherine C. Lerro MPH

  2. Health Services Research Program, American Cancer Society, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Anthony S. Robbins MD, PhD, MPH

  3. Commission on Cancer, American College of Surgeons, Chicago, IL, USA

    Jerri Linn Phillips MA & Andrew K. Stewart MA

Authors
  1. Catherine C. Lerro MPH
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  2. Anthony S. Robbins MD, PhD, MPH
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  3. Jerri Linn Phillips MA
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  4. Andrew K. Stewart MA
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anthony S. Robbins MD, PhD, MPH.

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Lerro, C.C., Robbins, A.S., Phillips, J.L. et al. Comparison of Cases Captured in the National Cancer Data Base with Those in Population-based Central Cancer Registries. Ann Surg Oncol 20, 1759–1765 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-013-2901-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-013-2901-1

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