title: Reliability of collecting colorectal cancer stage information from pathology reports and general practitioners in Queensland.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the reliability of collecting colorectal stage information from pathology reports and general practitioners in Queensland, Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A longitudinal study of colorectal cancer survivors conducted in 2003 and 2004 (n=1966, response rate=57%) obtained stage information from clinical specialists (n=1334), general practitioners (GP) (n=1417) and by extracting stage from pathology reports (n=1484). Reliability of stage information was determined by comparing stage from GPs and pathology reports with that reported by the clinical specialists, using a weighted kappa.
  
  
  RESULTS
  GPs and pathology reports each had a similar level of agreement with clinical specialists, with kappa scores of 0.77 (0.75-0.80) (n=1042) and 0.78 (0.75-0.81) (n=1152), respectively. Results were similar when restricting to records staged by all three methods (n=847). GPs had similar levels of agreement with clinical specialists within each stage, although pathology reports tended to under-stage patients in Stage D (0.37). Collapsing stage into two categories (A or B, C or D) increased the reliability estimates from the pathology reports to 0.91 (0.88-0.93), but there was little change in GP estimates 0.79 (0.75-0.83).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Extractions from pathology reports are a valid source of broad stage information for colorectal cancer.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the absence of clinical stage data, access to pathology records by population-based cancer registries enables a more accurate assessment of survival inequalities in colorectal cancer survival.
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology Unit, Viertel Centre for Research in Cancer Control, The Cancer Council Queensland, Spring Hill, Queensland.
authors.forename: Lauren J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Krnjacki
authors.forename: Peter D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Baade
authors.forename: Brigid M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Lynch
authors.forename: Joanne F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Aitken
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology; D003625:Data Collection / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011788:Quality of Life; D011793:Queensland; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D017741:Survivors