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. 2022 May;126(8):1224-1228.
doi: 10.1038/s41416-022-01701-0. Epub 2022 Jan 20.

Five ways to improve international comparisons of cancer survival: lessons learned from ICBP SURVMARK-2

Therese M-L Andersson  1 , Tor Åge Myklebust  2   3 , Mark J Rutherford  4   5 , Bjørn Møller  2 , Melina Arnold  5 , Isabelle Soerjomataram  5 , Freddie Bray  5 , D Maxwell Parkin  6   7 , Paul C Lambert  8   4
Affiliations

Five ways to improve international comparisons of cancer survival: lessons learned from ICBP SURVMARK-2

Therese M-L Andersson et al. Br J Cancer. 2022 May.

Abstract

Background: Comparisons of population-based cancer survival between countries are important to benchmark the overall effectiveness of cancer management. The International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP) Survmark-2 study aims to compare survival in seven high-income countries across eight cancer sites and explore reasons for the observed differences. A critical aspect in ensuring comparability in the reported survival estimates are similarities in practice across cancer registries. While ICBP Survmark-2 has shown these differences are unlikely to explain the observed differences in cancer-specific survival between countries, it is important to keep in mind potential biases linked to registry practice and understand their likely impact.

Methods: Based on experiences gained within ICBP Survmark-2, we have developed a set of recommendations that seek to optimally harmonise cancer registry datasets to improve future benchmarking exercises.

Results: Our recommendations stem from considering the impact on cancer survival estimates in five key areas: (1) the completeness of the registry and the availability of registration sources; (2) the inclusion of death certification as a source of identifying cases; (3) the specification of the date of incidence; (4) the approach to handling multiple primary tumours and (5) the quality of linkage of cases to the deaths register.

Conclusion: These recommendations seek to improve comparability whilst maintaining the opportunity to understand and act upon international variations in outcomes among cancer patients.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Key recommendations to cancer registries to improve cancer survival benchmarking.
Based on lessons learned from ICBP SURVMARK-2.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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