Accuracy of self-reported personal history of cancer in an outpatient breast center.
The self-reporting of cancer history is becoming increasingly important, as it frequently guides medical decision-making. We studied the accuracy of personal cancer history using a self-administered questionnaire, comparing the results with the Tumor Registry at our institution. Among 39,662 records, we identified 3614 women with a single cancer in the Tumor Registry who reported none or one cancer on their questionnaire. The sensitivity in self-reporting cancers was 85.7%, ranging from 92.1% for breast cancer to 42.9% for leukemia. The accuracy for breast cancer and Hodgkin's Lymphoma was significantly better than other cancers (p=0.00027, CI: 1.4-3.88). Analysis of patient's characteristics showed that Caucasians reported breast cancer more accurately than Asian/Pacific Islanders (p=0.008), and those with Jewish ancestry more accurately than non-Jewish (p=0.0435). These results will help us to improve data collection and thus improve medical decision-making.
Dominguez
Francisco J
FJ
Surgical Oncology Division, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 32 Fruit street YAW-7, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Lawrence
Christine
C
Halpern
Elkan F
EF
Drohan
Brian
B
Grinstein
Georges
G
Black
Dalliah M
DM
Smith
Barbara L
BL
Gadd
Michele A
MA
Specht
Michele
M
Kopans
Daniel B
DB
Moore
Richard H
RH
Hughes
Sherwood S
SS
Roche
Constance A
CA
Hughes
Kevin S
KS
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics*; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008487:Medical History Taking / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008838:Microcomputers; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics*; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D012042:Registries; D012650:Self Disclosure; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012984:Software; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics