ICBP SURVMARK-2 Cancer survival in high income countries
The ICBP Survmark-2 project has produced high impact cancer survival, incidence and mortality comparisons. This work has been important to gain a better understanding of international comparisons of cancer survival using data from cancer registries. The project included patient-level data on 3.8 million cancer patients, diagnosed between 1995 and 2014, in seven countries (Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and the UK) for seven cancer sites (oesophagus, stomach, colon, rectum, pancreas, lung and ovary). The one- and five-year net survival calculations showed that there was an increase in survival during the observation period for almost all cancer types and in all countries, but marked survival differences, within and between countries, were identified. The survival improvements were most substantial for cancers sites with poor prognosis such as oesophagus, stomach, pancreas, and lung cancer. The study also showed that the gap in five-year survival between countries was greater among the oldest patients (aged 75 years and older) (Arnold, 2019).
Survmark-2 also contributed new and valuable insights to the understanding of how different registration practices potentially affect observed differences in cancer survival. The group published five papers on this topic, and based on the insights gained from the project, the group recommended five key areas for improving international comparisons of cancer survival (Andersson, 2022).
Of the 15 publications published from this project, The Cancer Registry of Norway made substantive contributions to five articles. These contributions encompassed an investigation on whether different definitions of the data of cancer incidence could explain international variations in cancer survival. Notably, the variation in net survival using different dates of incidence exhibited marginal disparities across all registries. Nonetheless, a 2–3 % higher one-year survival difference for hepatic and pancreatic cancer was observed in Norway, and for ovarian cancer in the English population (Myklebust, 2020).
Key contributors from Norway include:
Bjørn Møller, PhD, Head of the Department of Registration (Co-lead, Element C)
Tor Åge Myklebust, PhD, Researcher
Links to more detailed information:
