title: Challenges in the estimation of Net SURvival: The CENSUR working survival group.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Net survival, the survival probability that would be observed, in a hypothetical world, where the cancer of interest would be the only possible cause of death, is a key indicator in population-based cancer studies. Accounting for mortality due to other causes, it allows cross-country comparisons or trends analysis and provides a useful indicator for public health decision-making. The objective of this study was to show how the creation and formalization of a network comprising established research teams, which already had substantial and complementary experience in both cancer survival analysis and methodological development, make it possible to meet challenges and thus provide more adequate tools, to improve the quality and the comparability of cancer survival data, and to promote methodological transfers in areas of emerging interest.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Challenges in the Estimation of Net SURvival (CENSUR) working survival group is composed of international researchers highly skilled in biostatistics, methodology, and epidemiology, from different research organizations in France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Slovenia, and Canada, and involved in French (FRANCIM) and European (EUROCARE) cancer registry networks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The expected advantages are an interdisciplinary, international, synergistic network capable of addressing problems in public health, for decision-makers at different levels; tools for those in charge of net survival analyses; a common methodology that makes unbiased cross-national comparisons of cancer survival feasible; transfer of methods for net survival estimations to other specific applications (clinical research, occupational epidemiology); and dissemination of results during an international training course.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The formalization of the international CENSUR working survival group was motivated by a need felt by scientists conducting population-based cancer research to discuss, develop, and monitor implementation of a common methodology to analyze net survival in order to provide useful information for cancer control and cancer policy. A "team science" approach is necessary to address new challenges concerning the estimation of net survival.
authors: Aix Marseille Univ, INSERM, IRD, SESSTIM, Sciences Economiques & Sociales de la Santé & Traitement de l'Information Médicale, Marseille, France; APHM, Hôpital de la Timone, Service Biostatistique et Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication, Marseille, France. Electronic address: roch.giorgi@univ-amu.fr.
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Giorgi
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D002423:Cause of Death; D015340:Epidemiologic Research Design; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D008017:Life Expectancy; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality*; D012042:Registries; D012107:Research Design; D013223:Statistics as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D016019:Survival Analysis
keywords: Analyse de survie; Cancer; Estimateur de Pohar-Perme; Excess hazard model; Life tables; Modèle statistique; Modèle à taux en excès; Net survival; Pohar-Perme estimator; Statistical model; Survie nette; Survival analysis; Table de mortalité