Evaluation of African-American and white racial classification in a surveillance, epidemiology, and end results cancer registry.
OBJECTIVE
This study evaluated the validity of registry-reported race for individuals who participated in research studies conducted since 1980 through the Metropolitan Detroit Cancer Surveillance System (MDCSS), a Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program registry.


METHODS
5329 individuals who self-identified as African American or White and were classified in the MDCSS registry as African American or White were included. Self-identified and registry-reported race were compared, and associations between demographics and racial misclassification were examined.


RESULTS
Most self-identified African Americans and Whites were correctly classified (sensitivity=98.5%, specificity=99.7%). Males were two times more likely to be misclassified than females [odds ratio (OR)=2.13, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06-4.29]. Individuals diagnosed with cancer after 1990 were two times more likely to be misclassified than those diagnosed before 1990 (OR= 2.17, 95% CI: 1.07-4.42). African Americans were four times more likely to be misclassified than Whites (OR=4.39, 95% CI: 2.24-8.60).


CONCLUSIONS
Misclassification in the MDCSS registry of African Americans as Whites, and vice versa, is relatively low. Additional studies should evaluate misclassification of African Americans and Whites as other races and/or ethnicities in the SEER registry.
Patel
Divya A
DA
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan, L4000 Women's Hospital, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. divya@med.umich.edu
Knowles
Alicia
A
Schwartz
Ann G
AG
Schwartz
Kendra
K
D001741:Black or African American / Q000145:classification*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology*; D012042:Registries / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018426:SEER Program / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014481:United States; D044465:White People / Q000145:classification*