ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To examine the prevalence of comorbidity among patients diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer in the Central Denmark Region and to study the impact of comorbidity on cancer survival over time. METHODS: We included women recorded with a first-time diagnosis of epithelial ovarian cancer in the Danish National Registry of Patients in the Central Denmark region between 2000 and 2011. We followed their survival through the Danish Civil Registration System. We estimated 1- and 5-year survival overall and stratified by Charlson Comorbidity Index score. We used Cox proportional hazard regression analyses to compute adjusted mortality rate ratios (MRRs) within different calendar time periods overall and by comorbidity level. RESULTS: We identified 1,540 patients. In 2000-2002, 25% of the newly diagnosed ovarian cancer patients had a comorbidity diagnosis compared with 35% in 2009-2011. Median age increased from 61 to 66 years. One-year overall survival changed from 73% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 69-78) in 2000-2002 to 69% (95% CI: 63-73) in 2009-2011, corresponding to an age- and comorbidity-adjusted MRR of 1.03 (95% CI: 0.79-1.36). Five-year survival changed only slightly during the study period, from 37% (95% CI: 32-42) in 2000-2002 to 39% (95% CI: 34-44) in 2009-2011. In patients with Charlson score ≥3, 1-year survival changed from 63% (95% CI: 35-81) in 2000-2002 to 41% (95% CI: 24-57) in 2003-2005 and thereafter stabilized. One-year survival changed from 56% (95% CI: 44-66) to 64% (95% CI: 53-74) in patients with Charlson score 1-2. Compared with Charlson score 0, adjusted 1-year MRRs for Charlson score ≥3 were 1.44 (95% CI: 0.62-3.36) in 2000-2002 and 2.11 (95% CI: 1.27-3.51) in 2009-2011, whereas adjusted 1-year MRRs for Charlson score 1-2 changed from 2.04 (95% CI: 1.33-3.14) in 2000-2002 to 1.09 (95% CI: 0.69-1.71) in 2009-2011. CONCLUSION: Comorbidity increased among ovarian cancer patients over time and was associated with poor survival. One- and 5-year overall survivals changed only little and an expected decrease in survival, following increased prevalence of comorbidity and increasing age of patients, may have been counteracted by more aggressive surgery.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the completeness of TNM (Tumor, Node, Metastasis) staging of melanoma in the Danish Cancer Registry (DCR). METHODS: We identified 8762 patients with a first primary diagnosis of melanoma from the DCR between 2004 and 2009. We obtained information on level of comorbidity, defined according to the Charlson Comorbidity Index, through the Danish National Patient Register. We computed the completeness of TNM staging overall and by each stage component. Analyses were stratified by gender, age, year of diagnosis, and level of comorbidity. We designed an algorithm that categorized melanoma stage as localized, regional, distant, or unknown. Owing to knowledge on clinical coding practice, we allowed for categorization of tumors with certain missing stage components. RESULTS: The overall completeness of the TNM staging was 78.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] 77.5-79.3). Completeness varied little by gender and year of diagnosis. However, completeness decreased from 83.5% (95% CI 81.7-85.3) in patients aged 0-39 years to 68.7% (95% CI 65.7-71.6%) in patients 80 years or older, and from 80.3% (95% CI 79.4-81.3) among patients with a low level of comorbidity to 67.4% (95% CI 63.1-71.4) among patients with a high level of comorbidity. Using the algorithm, 87.3% of cases could be assigned to one of the defined stage categories. CONCLUSION: The overall completeness of the TNM registration for melanoma was fairly high but varied with age and level of comorbidity. Thus, data on TNM stage should be used with caution in epidemiological and other research.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To examine time trends of survival and mortality of ovarian cancer in the central and northern Denmark regions during the period 1998-2009. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: We conducted a cohort study including women recorded with a first-time diagnosis of ovarian cancer in the Danish National Registry of Patients (DNRP) between 1998 and 2009. Patients were followed for survival through the Danish Civil Registration System. We determined survival stratified by age, and used Cox proportional hazard regression analyses to obtain mortality rate ratios (MRRs) to assess changes over time. RESULTS: We found no improvement in overall ovarian cancer survival between 1998 and 2009. One-year survival was 71% in 1998-2000 and 68% in 2007-2009. Three-year survival declined from 48% in 1998-2000 to 46% in 2007-2009 (predicted), and 5-year survival declined from 40% in 1998-2000 to 37% in 2007-2009 (predicted). Compared with the period 1998-2000, the age-adjusted 1-year MRR was 1.05 (95% confidence interval CI: 0.86-1.28) for the period 2007-2009, and the predicted age-adjusted 3- and 5-year MRRs were 0.96 (95% CI: 0.83-1.12) and 0.99 (95% CI: 0.86-1.14), respectively. Results are not adjusted for tumor stage as this information was not available. We also observed a decline in the annual number of incident ovarian cancer patients during the study period, most pronounced in the youngest age group. CONCLUSION: The survival of ovarian cancer patients did not improve during the study period. This lack of improvement contrasts with the national cancer strategies implemented during this last decade, focusing on improving the survival of ovarian cancer patients.
ABSTRACT
This paper provides an introduction to the clinical laboratory information system (LABKA) research database in Northern and Central Denmark. The database contains millions of stored laboratory test results for patients living in the two Danish regions, encompassing 1.8 million residents, or one-third of the country's population. More than 1700 different types of blood test analyses are available. Therefore, the LABKA research database represents an incredible source for studies involving blood test analyses. By record linkage of different Danish registries with the LABKA research database, it is possible to examine a large number of biomarkers as predictors of disease risk and prognosis and as markers of disease severity, and to evaluate medical treatments regarding effectiveness and possible side effects. Large epidemiological studies using routinely stored blood test results for individual patients can be performed because it is possible to link the laboratory data to high-quality individual clinical patient data in Denmark.
