Abstract

VERDECCHIA, Arduino; DE ANGELIS, Roberta  and  FRANCESCHI, Silvia. A method for ascertaining the quality of cancer registry data. Rev Cubana Salud Pública [online]. 2004, vol.30, n.2, pp. 0-0. ISSN 1561-3127.

Methods commonly used to evaluate completeness and quality of CR data involve simple and indirect indicators such as the proportion of DCO cases, the proportion of cases with microscopic confirmation, the incidence to mortality ratio, etc. Modelling cancer incidence, mortality and survival in a unified framework is proposed as an appropriate approach to check for consistency CR data with a process that turns out to be circular if, and only if, mortality, incidence and patients’ survival data are high quality and complete. The MIAMOD method was developed to provide incidence, prevalence and mortality estimates and projections, using mortality and patients’ survival information at national or regional levels. Examples of application of the MIAMOD method to national cancer registries in Europe are given to show the performance of the method in checking the CR data for internal consistency and completeness of registration. We are proposing the MIAMOD method and software as a tool for CR useful to check for completeness and quality of their data and to provide future cancer burden information for health planning and allocation of resources for their area

Keywords : Epidemiological methods; Cancer; Incidence; Mortality.