Validation of data collected in the Danish Veterinary Cancer Registry

The Danish Veterinary Cancer Registry (DVCR) was established in 2005 and prospectively collects information about neoplasms in Danish dogs and cats. The present study evaluated the agreement between veterinary practice records and electronic submissions made to the DVCR from May 2005 through June 2008. The variables compared were gender, breed, diagnosis, date of birth, death and diagnosis, localization and biological behaviour of the neoplasms. Agreement of 95% between DVCR and the original data were considered acceptable with regard to use of data in studies. Recorded proportions of agreement were: (1) breed: 97.4%; (2) diagnosis: 95.6%; (3) location: 95.6%; (4) biological behaviour: 93.0%; (5) gender: 92.5%; (6) date of death: 91.5%; (7) date of diagnosis: 80.1%; (8) date of birth: 76.7%. All variables except date of death, birth, and diagnosis met the required 95% agreement limit. Data on dates of birth, death and diagnosis were considered less suitable for further studies.