Clinical Practice Research Datalink, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, London, UK.
Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2013 Feb;22(2):168-75. doi: 10.1002/pds.3374. Epub 2012 Dec 13.
Large electronic datasets are increasingly being used to evaluate healthcare delivery. The aim of this study was to compare information held by cancer registries with that of the General Practice Research Database (GPRD).
A convenience sample of 101 020 patients aged 40+ years drawn from GPRD formed the primary data source. This cohort was derived from a larger sample originally established for a cohort study of diabetes. GPRD records were linked with those from cancer registries in the National Cancer Data Repository (NCDR). Concordance between the two datasets was then evaluated. For cases recorded only on one dataset, validation was sought from other datasets (Hospital Episode Statistics and death registration) and by detailed analysis of a subset of GPRD records.
A total of 5797 cancers (excluding non-melanomatous skin cancer) were recorded on GPRD. Of these cases, 4830 were also recorded on NCDR (concordance rate of 83.3%). Of the 976 cases recorded on GPRD but not on NCDR, 528 were present also in the hospital records or death certificates. Of the 341 cases recorded on NCDR but not on GPRD, 307 were recorded in these other two datasets. Rates of concordance varied by cancer type. Cancer registries recorded larger numbers of patients with lung, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers, whereas GPRD recorded more haematological cancers and melanomas. As expected, GPRD recorded significantly more non-melanomatous skin cancer. Concordance decreased with increasing age.
Although concordance levels were reasonably high, the findings from this study can be used to direct efforts for better recording in both datasets.
越来越多的大型电子数据集被用于评估医疗保健服务的提供情况。本研究旨在比较癌症登记处和普通实践研究数据库（GPRD）所掌握的信息。
从 GPRD 中抽取一个方便样本，共 101020 名年龄在 40 岁以上的患者，作为原始数据来源。该队列源自一项更大的糖尿病队列研究的原始样本。将 GPRD 记录与国家癌症数据存储库（NCDR）中的癌症登记处记录相链接，然后评估两个数据集之间的一致性。对于仅在一个数据集上记录的病例，从其他数据集（医院入院统计和死亡登记）以及对 GPRD 记录的一个子集进行详细分析来寻求验证。
GPRD 共记录了 5797 例（不包括非黑素瘤性皮肤癌）癌症。其中，4830 例也记录在 NCDR 中（一致性率为 83.3%）。在 GPRD 记录但未在 NCDR 记录的 976 例病例中，528 例也存在于医院记录或死亡证明中。在 NCDR 记录但未在 GPRD 记录的 341 例病例中，307 例记录在其他两个数据集。癌症类型的一致性率有所不同。癌症登记处记录了更多的肺癌、结直肠癌和胰腺癌患者，而 GPRD 记录了更多的血液系统癌症和黑色素瘤。不出所料，GPRD 记录了更多的非黑素瘤性皮肤癌。一致性随着年龄的增加而降低。
尽管一致性水平相当高，但本研究的结果可用于指导两个数据集更好地记录的努力。
