EUROCARE-5 on-line database Data and methods

Data for adults with cancer were provided by 107 population-based cancer registries from 29 countries grouped into five regions: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden (northern Europe); England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales (UK and Ireland); Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland (central Europe); Croatia, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain (southern Europe); and Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia (eastern Europe). Cancers were defined by site (topography) and morphology according to the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, 3rd edition (ICD-O-3), as in EUROCARE-4. Haematological neoplasms were defined in accordance with WHO classification. All invasive, primary, malignant neoplasms except non-melanoma skin cancer were eligible for inclusion. Benign and in-situ urothelial cancers of the bladder were also included among urinary bladder cancers to ensure comparability between countries. Anonymised cancer registration records were supplied. These records had to contain (according to study protocol) information for last known vital status (alive, dead, censored); dates of birth, diagnosis, and last known vital status; sex; topography and morphology of the cancer; and the basis for diagnosis. The protocol has been published online. Cases diagnosed at autopsy or registered only from a death certificate were excluded. Registries in which the proportion of death certificate only cases in 2000–07 exceeded 13% were excluded, which is consistent with previous EUROCARE studies. All primary cancers were eligible, irrespective of whether other cancers of different type had been diagnosed previously in a patient. Patients who had more than one type of cancer were included in each of the counts, to reduce bias from survival comparisons between long-established and recently established registries.