Clinical Epidemiology (Dec 2023)
Presence of Breast Cancer Information Recorded in United Kingdom Primary Care Databases: Comparison of CPRD Aurum and CPRD GOLD (Companion Paper 1)
Abstract
Katrina Wilcox Hagberg,1 Catherine Vasilakis-Scaramozza,2 Rebecca Persson,1 David Neasham,2 George Kafatos,2 Susan Jick1,3 1Epidemiology, Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program, Lexington, MA, USA; 2Center for Observational Research, Amgen Ltd, Uxbridge, UK; 3Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USACorrespondence: Susan Jick, Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program, 11 Muzzey Street, Lexington, MA, 02421, USA, Tel +1 781 862 6660, Fax +1 781 862 1680, Email [email protected]: To evaluate the presence of data elements related to diagnosis and treatment of malignant breast cancer in CPRD Aurum compared to those in the previously validated CPRD GOLD.Methods: Females in CPRD Aurum or GOLD with a first-time code for malignant breast cancer, mastectomy, or ≥ 1 prescription for tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors (2004– 2019) were selected. We compared the presence of the codes for breast cancer diagnosis, surgeries (mastectomy, lumpectomy), tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitor prescriptions, radiation, chemotherapy, and supporting clinical codes (suspected breast cancer, lump symptoms, biopsy, lumpectomy, cancer care, referral/visit to specialist, palliative care). Age standardized incidence rates of breast cancer diagnosis in CPRD Aurum and GOLD were calculated.Results: There were 131,936 eligible patients in CPRD Aurum and 69,102 patients in GOLD. A similar proportion of patients in CPRD Aurum and GOLD had codes for breast cancer diagnosis, mastectomy, drug prescriptions, lump, biopsy, lumpectomy, chemotherapy, and cancer and palliative care coded in their electronic record during follow-up. However, suspected breast cancer, radiation, and referral/visits to specialists were coded more frequently in patients in CPRD Aurum compared to GOLD. Age-standardized incidence rates were similar for CPRD Aurum and GOLD.Conclusion: Overall, there was consistency between data elements related to malignant breast cancer recorded in CPRD Aurum and GOLD, particularly for the most informative clinical details. These findings provide reassurance that breast cancer information recorded in CPRD Aurum is generally comparable to that recorded in the previously validated CPRD GOLD and support the use of CPRD Aurum for breast cancer research.Keywords: clinical practice research datalink, CPRD Aurum, CPRD GOLD, breast cancer, validation, data quality
