Evaluation of bowel cancer registration data in England, 1996–2004

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The National Health Service (NHS) bowel cancer screening programme (BCSP) was initiated across England in April 2006. To determine the feasibility of using national cancer registration data to assess the impact of the BCSP on stage-specific incidence, we studied trends in the incidence rates of colon (ICD10 C18) and rectosigmoid junction and rectum (ICD10 C19 -C20) cancers and the completeness of data on Dukes stage in England. METHODS: Data were obtained from all nine cancer registries for the period 1996 -2004, before the introduction of the BCSP, in men and women aged 50 -79 years. RESULTS: Overall, incidence rates declined by 1% per year in the 9 years before the introduction of the BCSP (Po0.001). Dukes stage was recorded for 60% of all registrations but this varied between regions and over time. Only four registries had completeness of 74% or more. Registrations with unknown Dukes stage decreased from 1996 to 2000, and then increased during 2001 -2004 affecting trends in stage-specific incidence. CONCLUSION: To study the impact of the BCSP on stage-specific incidence, regional variations in data completeness need to be addressed.

Progress in colorectal cancer survival in Europe from the late 1980s to the early 21st century: The EUROCARE study

“…The increases in survival of CRC patients seen across all regions of Europe are consistent with observations of recent major declines in mortality rates,3, 4 along with persistent increase, leveling off or recent slight decrease in incidence rates reported from European countries 15–18. Increases in incidence rates are ongoing in Eastern European countries and have been associated with increases in risk factors associated with “Westernization,” such as obesity and physical inactivity 2.…”

Colorectal Cancer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Need for Screening

“…When compared with reports from developed countries (Moore et al, 2010) (Sankaranarayanan et al, 2010), the mean age at diagnosis of CRC is lower in the Kingdom. In England, some researchers reported that between 1996 and 2004 the mean age at diagnosis of CRC was 68.4 years in men and 69.0 years in women (Jones et al, 2009); In Australia, the median age at diagnosis of CRC in 2008 was reported to be 70 years (Ageing, 2008), similar to that is reported in the United States (Liang, 2010) and Sweden (Derwinger et al, 2010). Contrary to our findings, reports from neighboring countries that share our country's topographic and climatic characteristics show that patients younger than 45 years of age have more advanced disease at the time of diagnosis when compared with those older than 45 (Al-Jaberi et al, 2003).…”

Management of colorectal cancer explains differences in 1-year relative survival between France and England for patients diagnosed 1997–2004

“…The unstaged category included: non-resected patients with no clinical evidence of metastases at diagnosis, resected patients but for whom the registry did not capture the stage, and patients who received potentially downstaging radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy before surgery. Localised cancers were defined by Duke's A & B and advanced cancers were defined by Duke's C &D. Stage at diagnosis was unknown for almost 18% and 7% of English and French patients, respectively (these percentages are comparable to previous studies) (Jones et al , 2009). …”