Nordic Lung Cancer Registries

Abstract

<b>Background:</b> Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in all Nordic countries. The Nordic countries have similar demographics and health care systems. Yet there are noticeable differences in lung cancer survival. Historically, Denmark has had both the highest lung cancer incidence and the lowest survival and these data and comparisons are often based on data from national cancer registries. Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden all have national population-based cancer registries. Moreover, differences in registration practices could contribute to differences in outcome measures. In this study, we aimed to describe and compare the lung cancer registries of the four most populous Nordic countries. <b>Methods:</b> For each register, we collected documentation describing the composition of the register and how data are collected and reported. Moreover, we compared the results from the latest annual reports. <b>Results:</b> All four countries have national registries with a high level of completeness. Denmark has a separate clinical lung cancer registry which contains more data on each patient compared to the other Nordic countries. Finland and Norway report lung cancer survival as relative survival, whereas Denmark and Sweden report overall survival. The Danish Lung Cancer Registry and the Swedish Cancer Registry do not receive data from the Cause of Death registries, as the Finnish Cancer Registry and the Cancer Registry of Norway. <b>Conclusion:</b> The lung cancer registries in the Nordic countries have a high level of completeness. However, important differences in terms of scope of data and survival reporting exist between the registries.