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Updated: May 11, 2025
06:46
Competing-Risk Nomogram for Predicting Cancer-Specific Survival in Multiple Primary Colorectal Cancer Patients after Surgery
Published on: September 27, 2024
179
Monitoring Temporal Trends in Cancer Survival: Choosing Appropriate Standards When Accounting for Age and Other-Cause
Paul C Lambert1,2, Therese M L Andersson2, Tor Åge Myklebust1,3
1Department of Registration, Cancer Registry of Norway, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Summary
Reference adjusted measures offer a clearer way to understand cancer survival trends than traditional net survival. These methods improve interpretation for patients and policymakers, enhancing cancer surveillance and control efforts.
Area of Science:
- Epidemiology
- Biostatistics
- Public Health
Background:
- Cancer surveillance relies on understanding temporal trends in survival.
- Net survival is commonly used but has interpretation challenges.
- Improved methods are needed for accurate cancer survival analysis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce reference adjusted all-cause survival and crude probability of death as alternatives to net survival.
- To provide a more interpretable method for analyzing temporal trends in cancer survival.
- To illustrate these methods using breast cancer survival data.
Main Methods:
- Utilized reference adjusted all-cause survival and crude probability of death.
- Incorporated reference expected mortality rates for fair comparisons.
- Applied methods to a dataset of 95,285 women with breast cancer in Norway (1986-2021).
Main Results:
- Demonstrated that using recent calendar periods for age standardization and reference mortality improves interpretation.
- Compared different age distributions for standardization.
- Showcased the practical application of reference adjusted measures.
Conclusions:
- Reference adjusted measures enhance understanding of cancer survival trends for patients and policymakers.
- Using the most recent calendar period for age standards and reference mortality simplifies interpretation.
- Increased use of these measures in population-based studies will improve cancer survival analysis, supported by freely available software.
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