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. 2014 Nov;23(11):2296-302.
doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-14-0300. Epub 2014 Aug 21.

A web tool for age-period-cohort analysis of cancer incidence and mortality rates

Philip S Rosenberg  1 , David P Check  2 , William F Anderson  2
Affiliations

A web tool for age-period-cohort analysis of cancer incidence and mortality rates

Philip S Rosenberg et al. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2014 Nov.

Abstract

Background: Age-period-cohort (APC) analysis can inform registry-based studies of cancer incidence and mortality, but concerns about statistical identifiability and interpretability, as well as the learning curves of statistical software packages, have limited its uptake.

Methods: We implemented a panel of easy-to-interpret estimable APC functions and corresponding Wald tests in R code that can be accessed through a user-friendly Web tool.

Results: Input data for the Web tool consist of age-specific numbers of events and person-years over time, in the form of a rate matrix of paired columns. Output functions include model-based estimators of cross-sectional and longitudinal age-specific rates, period and cohort rate ratios that incorporate the overall annual percentage change (net drift), and estimators of the age-specific annual percentage change (local drifts). The Web tool includes built-in examples for teaching and demonstration. User data can be input from a Microsoft Excel worksheet or by uploading a comma-separated-value file. Model outputs can be saved in a variety of formats, including R and Excel.

Conclusions: APC methodology can now be carried out through a freely available user-friendly Web tool. The tool can be accessed at http://analysistools.nci.nih.gov/apc/.

Impact: The Web tool can help cancer surveillance researchers make important discoveries about emerging cancer trends and patterns.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

The authors have no potential conflicts of interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
screen shot of input page
Figure 2
Figure 2
screen shot of local drifts tab
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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