[Cancer in Spain (1977-1987): an analysis of the Hospital Morbidity Survey]

The aim of the present work is to evaluate the usefulness of the Hospital Morbidity Survey for the study of cancer morbidity in Spain. The study covers the period 1977-1987. Age-standardized rates for the following groups have been estimated: "hospital admissions by sex, age and final diagnosis" and "hospital admissions (new cases) by age, sex and final diagnosis". During the period 1983-84 an important increase in the frequency of all malignant tumours has coincided with an equivalent decrease in the non-specified category, leading to the conclusion that an information bias is present. This bias limits the study of temporal series of cancer morbidity in Spain and suggests that a modification of the Spanish Hospital Morbidity Survey is urgently needed.