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A Literature Review to Assess the Use of Claims Databases in Identifying Incident Cancer Cases

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Abstract

Background: Claims databases that include standardized medical and administrative information routinely collected on patients are becoming increasingly prevalent in many industrialized countries. Some of them have a national scope and are an efficient source of information on large heterogeneous patient populations. These databases can help to describe cancer incidence in the absence of national cancer registries. A literature review was performed to describe the use of these databases to identify incident cancer cases.

Methods: References (1990 and 2000) were extracted from MEDLINE. A final selection of the articles to be analyzed was made by appraising the references using defined criteria.

Results: Most of the studies retrieved were based on the Medicare databases. Identification of new cases was based on the detection of cancer diagnosis codes or on the finding of cancer-specific diagnosis and procedure codes. The standards used to evaluate identification were either cancer registries or medical records. Evaluation was based on comparison of incidence rates or carried out on a person-level basis according to a cross-linkage of claims and standard databases. Only studies that reported sensitivity and specificity for identification were able to define the best compromise between a high identification rate and a low false positive rate. These studies were based on breast cancer and reported sensitivity and specificity varying from 75 to 90% and from 99.75 to 99.86%, respectively.

Conclusions: Identification methods can be used to obtain an accurate number of incident cancer cases if an appropriate statistical method is applied. We proposed a method that take into account lack of sensitivity and specificity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département d'Information Médicale des Hospices Civils de Lyon, 162 avenue Lacassagne, 69424, Lyon cedex 03, France

    Chantal M. Couris, Anne-Marie Schott, Eliane Morgon & Cyrille Colin

  2. Service de biostatistiques des Hospices Civils de Lyon, 162 avenue Lacassagne, 69424, Lyon cedex 03, France

    René Ecochard

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  1. Chantal M. Couris
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Correspondence to Chantal M. Couris.

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Couris, C.M., Schott, AM., Ecochard, R. et al. A Literature Review to Assess the Use of Claims Databases in Identifying Incident Cancer Cases. Health Services & Outcomes Research Methodology 4, 49–63 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025828911298

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