A comparison of the cancer incidence rates between the state cancer statistics and cancer registry data in the Russian Federation

The purpose of the study was to compare data on the cancer incidence rates for 2016 between the official reports on cancer statistics and federal cancer registry, collected in December 2018. Material and Methods. The study estimated the total data on 18 parameters from 35 regions of Russia, covering 66.3 million people (2016). The database of the Russian cancer registry and the database containing reports on the state cancer statistics were used. The cancer statistics/cancer registry ratio was assessed. Results. No differences in cancer incidence between the official reports on cancer statistics and cancer registry data were found. In the official reports on cancer statistics, the mortality rate, the proportion of posthumously recorded patients per 100 newly diagnosed, the proportion of deaths from diseases not related to cancer per 100 deceased patients, the cancer prevalence and the prevalence rate of unspecified malignant tumors were slightly reduced (to 10 %, 9 %, 5 %, and 4 %, respectively), and the rate of cancer detection, the proportion of histologically verified diagnoses and the proportion of cancers detected in stage III were increased (to 19 %, 10 % and 14 %, respectively) compared to those in cancer registry data. Conclusion. Improvement in the quality and completeness of information about cancer patients is associated rather with increasing the annual report length than with the need to improve the cancer registration system itself.