Cancer survival in Khon Kaen, Thailand, 1993-1997.

The Khon Kaen cancer registry was established in 1984 as a hospital-based cancer registry, and population-based cancer registration started in 1988 with retrospective data collection from 1985. Cancer registration is done by passive and active methods. Data on survival for 13 cancer sites or types registered during 1993-1997 were reported. Follow-up was done by active methods, with median follow-up ranging between 8-32 months for different cancers. The proportion with histologically verified diagnosis for various cancers ranged between 54-100%; death certificates only (DCOs) comprised 0-5%; 85-97% of total registered cases were included for survival analysis. Five-year follow-up ranged from 40-83%. Five-year age-standardized relative survival rates for common cancers were cervix (58%), breast (61%), colon (39%), ovary (43%), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (42%) and rectum (43%). Five-year relative survival by age group portrayed an inverse relationship or was fluctuating. Five-year survival was the highest for localized disease, followed by the regional and distant metastasis categories. Trends in 5-year relative survival in 1993-1997 compared to 1985-1992 showed a marked increase for cancers of the rectum, breast, ovary, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas and decrease for cancers of the lip and larynx.