Indices of data quality for the 2018 Australian Cancer Database

The following two indices are commonly used to assess the completeness and accuracy of incidence data in cancer registries. A detailed discussion of how they are used can be found in Cancer Incidence in Five Continents.

Percentage of cases that were microscopically verified (MV%)

Microscopic verification is the gold standard for diagnosing cancer. The MV% is the percentage of registered cases for which the diagnosis was microscopically verified. A high MV% suggests higher quality data. A low MV% suggests (1) incomplete notification of pathology reports and therefore possibly lower accuracy of diagnoses, and (2) incomplete notification of cancers for which histology is often the only source of notification, e.g. melanoma of the skin.

Percentage of cases that are death certificate only (DCO%)

The DCO% is the percentage of registered cases for which no evidence of cancer was available other than a statement on the death certificate that the person died from or with cancer. A low DCO% suggests higher quality data. A high DCO% suggests incomplete incidence notification. Also, such diagnoses may be less accurate.

Indices of data quality for the 2018 Australian Cancer Database, year of diagnosis 2017
Cancer site/type (ICD-10 codes) No. of cases MV% DCO%
Lip (C00) 654 98.6 0.0
Tongue (C01–C02) 998 96.5 0.3
Mouth (C03–C06) 637 96.7 1.3
Parotid gland (C07) 218 97.7 0.5
Submandibular gland (C08.0) 44 100.0 0.0
Sublingual gland (C08.1) 1 100.0 0.0
Overlapping and unspecified major salivary glands (C08.8–C08.9) 24 100.0 0.0
Tonsil and oropharynx (C09–C10) 780 97.2 0.4
Nasopharynx (C11) 145 95.2 0.7
Pyriform sinus and hypopharynx (C12–C13) 176 96.6 0.0
Other and ill-defined sites in lip, oral cavity and pharynx (C14) 59 93.2 1.7
Oesophagus (C15) 1,574 94.2 1.4
Stomach (C16) 2,422 93.8 1.1
Small intestine (C17) 697 95.6 0.3
Colon (C18) 10,552 93.6 1.6
Rectum and rectosigmoid junction (C19–C20) 4,752 96.1 0.9
Anus and anal canal (C21) 482 96.9 0.4
Liver (C22) 2,220 52.5 3.5
Gallbladder (C23) 378 81.2 1.3
Extrahepatic bile duct (C24.0) 336 74.7 2.4
Ampulla of Vater (C24.1) 199 90.5 0.5
Overlapping and unspecified sites in biliary tract (C24.8–C24.9) 160 72.5 5.6
Pancreas (C25) 3,679 73.6 4.5
Other and ill-defined digestive organs (C26) 290 55.2 31.0
Nasal cavity (C30.0) 122 97.5 0.0
Middle ear (C30.1) 2 50.0 0.0
Sinuses (C31) 73 94.5 1.4
Larynx (C32) 572 93.7 1.0
Lung, bronchus and trachea (C33–C34) 12,649 85.0 2.9
Thymus, heart, mediastinum, pleura and ill-defined sites in respiratory and intrathoracic organs (C37–C39) 146 95.9 0.7
Bones, joints and articular cartilage (C40–C41) 254 94.1 0.4
Melanoma of the skin (C43) 14,976 99.2 0.1
Non-melanoma of the skin (C44) 1,116 96.5 1.3
Mesothelioma (C45) 819 91.1 1.7
Kaposi sarcoma (C46) 55 96.4 0.0
Peripheral nerves and autonomic nervous system (C47) 47 95.7 0.0
Peritoneum and retroperitoneum (C48) 221 93.7 1.4
Connective, subcutaneous and other soft tissue (C49) 701 95.1 1.0
Breast (C50) 17,947 98.8 0.5
Vulva (C51) 373 97.1 1.1
Vagina (C52) 108 93.5 1.9
Cervix (C53) 840 97.4 0.8
Uterus (C54–C55) 2,795 97.5 1.1
Ovary (C56) 1,313 91.5 1.4
Other and unspecified female genital organs (C57) 399 97.7 0.8
Placenta (C58) 9 100.0 0.0
Penis (C60) 134 97.0 0.7
Prostate (C61) 20,811 96.3 0.8
Testis (C62) 892 98.8 0.1
Other and unspecified male genital organs (C63) 33 97.0 0.0
Kidney (C64) 3,717 91.1 1.7
Renal pelvis (C65) 291 88.3 0.3
Ureter (C66) 161 90.1 1.2
Bladder (C67) 2,816 91.4 2.7
Urethra (C68.0) 36 88.9 2.8
Paraurethral gland (C68.1) 0 . . . .
Overlapping and unspecified sites in urinary tract (C68.8–C68.9) 57 80.7 14.0
Eye and adnexa (C69) 318 78.0 0.6
Brain (C71) 1,805 83.9 1.4
Other and unspecified parts of central nervous system (C70, C72, C75.1–C75.3) 119 78.2 1.7
Thyroid (C73) 3,151 98.6 0.3
Other and unspecified endocrine glands and related structures (C74, C75.0, C75.4–C75.9) 127 85.0 4.7
Hodgkin lymphoma (C81) 703 98.4 0.0
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (C82–C86) 5,624 95.7 0.7
Immunoproliferative cancers (C88) 367 97.8 0.0
Multiple myeloma (C90.0) 2,018 91.9 2.1
Other plasma cell cancers (C90.1–C90.9) 62 90.3 1.6
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (C91.0) 361 98.1 0.0
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (C91.1) 2,065 91.9 1.3
Other and unspecified lymphoid leukaemias (C91.2–C91.9) 166 91.6 0.0
Acute myeloid leukaemia (C92.0, C92.3–C92.6, C92.8, C93.0, C94.0, C94.2, C94.4–C94.5) 980 92.1 1.1
Chronic myeloid leukaemia (C92.1) 366 88.8 2.7
Chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (including juvenile) (C93.1, C93.3) 307 88.3 2.3
Other and unspecified myeloid leukaemias (C92.2, C92.7, C92.9, C93.2, C93.7, C93.9, C94.6–C94.7) 130 92.3 1.5
Other and unspecified leukaemias (C95) 85 32.9 42.4
Myeloproliferative neoplasms excluding chronic myeloid leukaemia (C94.1, D45, D47.1, D47.3–D47.5) 1,520 83.1 2.0
Myelodysplastic syndromes (D46) 1,496 81.1 3.9
Other blood cancers (C94.3, C96) 94 96.8 1.1
Other and ill-defined sites (C76) 122 81.1 13.1
Unknown primary site (C80) 2,525 55.7 14.1
All cancers combined (C00–C97, D45, D46, D47.1, D47.3–D47.5) 140,473 92.4 1.6

Notes:

  1. 2017 has been used as the reference year because the NSW DCO cases for 2018 were not available in time to be included in the 2018 ACD.
  2. Estimated data are excluded.
  3. The categories “non-melanoma of the skin” and “all cancers combined” exclude basal and squamous cell carcinomas of the skin.

Source: AIHW Australian Cancer Database, 2018.