Temporal Trends in the Completeness of Epidemiological Variables in a Hospital-Based Cancer Registry of a Pediatric Oncology Center in Brazil

Abstract

This ecological time series study aimed to examine the temporal trends in the completeness of epidemiological variables from a hospital-based cancer registry (HbCR) of a reference center for pediatric oncology in Brazil from 2010 to 2016. Completeness categories were based on the percentage of missing data, with the categories excellent (<5%), good (5–10%), regular (11–20%), poor (21–50%), and very poor (>50%). Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed using R.4.1.0; a Mann–Kendall trend test was performed to examine the temporal trends. Variables with the highest incompleteness included race/color (17.24% in 2016), level of education (51.40% in 2015), TNM (56.88% in 2012), disease status at the end of the first treatment (12.09% in 2013), cancer family history (79.12% in 2013), history of alcoholic consumption (39.25% in 2015), history of tobacco consumption (38.32% in 2015), and type of admission clinic (10.28% in 2015). Nevertheless, most variables achieved 100% completeness and were classified as excellent across the time series. A significant trend was observed for race/color, TNM, and history of tobacco consumption. While most variables maintained excellent completeness, the increasing incompleteness trend in race/color and decreasing trend in TNM underscore the importance of reliable and complete HbCRs for personalized cancer care, for planning public policies, and for conducting research on cancer control.