New opportunities for drug outcomes research in cancer patients: The linkage of the Eindhoven Cancer Registry and the PHARMO Record Linkage System

van Herk-Sukel, Myrthe P.P.; van de Poll-Franse, Lonneke V.; Lemmens, Valery E.P.P.; Vreugdenhil, Gerard; Pruijt, Johannes F.M.; Coebergh, Jan Willem W.; Herings, Ron M.C.

doi:10.1016/j.ejca.2009.09.010

« Previous Next »European Journal of Cancer
Volume 46, Issue 2 , Pages 395-404, January 2010

New opportunities for drug outcomes research in cancer patients: The linkage of the Eindhoven Cancer Registry and the PHARMO Record Linkage System

Myrthe P.P. van Herk-Sukel
- PHARMO Institute for Drug Outcomes Research, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Corresponding author: Address: PHARMO Institute for Drug Outcomes Research, P.O. Box 85222, 3508 AE Utrecht, The Netherlands. Tel.: +31 (0)30 2345 620; fax: +31 (0)30 2345 568.
Lonneke V. van de Poll-Franse
- Eindhoven Cancer Registry, Comprehensive Cancer Center South, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Center of Research on Psychology in Somatic Diseases (CoRPS), Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
Valery E.P.P. Lemmens
- Eindhoven Cancer Registry, Comprehensive Cancer Center South, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Department of Public Health, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Gerard Vreugdenhil
- Department of Internal Medicine, Máxima Medical Centre, Veldhoven, The Netherlands
Johannes F.M. Pruijt
- Department of Internal Medicine, Jeroen Bosch Hospital, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands
Jan Willem W. Coebergh
- Eindhoven Cancer Registry, Comprehensive Cancer Center South, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Department of Public Health, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Ron M.C. Herings
- PHARMO Institute for Drug Outcomes Research, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Received 28 July 2009; accepted 9 September 2009. published online 07 October 2009.

Abstract

Background

Insight into co-morbidity and treatment effects is pivotal to improve quality of care for cancer patients.

Objectives

To determine whether linkage of the Eindhoven Cancer Registry (ECR) and the PHARMO Record Linkage System (RLS) was technically feasible and to assess which patient-centric data would result from this linkage.

Methods

The ECR records data on tumour stage and primary treatment of all newly diagnosed cancer patients in the southeastern Netherlands including co-morbidity at diagnosis, whereas the PHARMO RLS includes data from multiple linked observational databases such as data on drug utilisation (for both in- and out-patients, including chemotherapy), hospitalisations and clinical laboratory measurements. All patients who lived or had been living in the overlapping area served by the ECR and the PHARMO RLS during 1998–2006 were selected for linkage which was performed with probabilistic medical record linkage.

Results

The linkage resulted in an ECR-PHARMO cohort of 40,004 cancer patients with a total of 42,767 primary tumours. The cancer patients in the linked ECR-PHARMO cohort were representatives for the cancer patients included in the total ECR during 1998–2006. Cancer patients included in the cohorts had a mean history of 5 years and a mean follow-up ranging from 2 to more than 4 years (dependent on the survival rate of the specific cancer type).

Conclusions

Linkage of ECR and the PHARMO RLS creates the possibility to study patient-centric drug utilisation, health resources utilisation and their costs, in addition to the effectiveness and safety of pharmaceuticals in routine daily practice in cancer patients.

Keywords: Cancer registry, Chemotherapy, Clinical laboratory measurements, Drug utilization, Hospitalisation database, Medical record linkage, Patient care, Population based, Pharmacoepidemiology, Validation