Self- and registry-reported cancer in a population-based longitudinal study.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the concordance of cancer diagnosis from self- and registry reports.


METHODS
Self-reported diagnosis information from participants in a cohort study was compared with linkage data from the Wisconsin Cancer Reporting System.


RESULTS
Overall, there was good agreement between self- and registry-reported cancers, with 90% of all matches being considered an exact match. Concordance varied by cancer site; agreement was excellent for breast (85.4%) and prostate (78.9%) cancers.


CONCLUSIONS
While self-reported cancer diagnoses for some cancers such as breast and prostate cancer are important sources of information and may be reliable substitutes when registry data are incomplete or not available, a combination of self and registry reports with mortality information may yield the most accurate information about cancer for purposes of health care planning and conducting epidemiologic studies.
University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, 610 N Walnut St, 4th Fl WARF, Madison, WI 53726-2336, USA. kleinb@epi.ophth.wisc.edu
Barbara E K
BE
Klein
Kristine E
KE
Lee
Scot E
SE
Moss
Amy
A
Trentham-Dietz
Ronald
R
Klein
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012042:Registries; D012650:Self Disclosure; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014922:Wisconsin / Q000453:epidemiology