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Abstract Introduction The Swedish ColoRectal Cancer Registry (SCRCR) includes data on patients with rectal cancer in Sweden with a coverage rate of 98.5%. While variables on primary diagnosis and treatment have been shown to have good validity, local recurrence has not been validated on a national level previously. As data from the SCRCR is used extensively in research and for clinical evaluation with local recurrence as an important outcome measure, it is essential that this variable in the SCRCR is correct. The aim of this study was to validate the registration of local recurrence of rectal cancer in the SCRCR. Method All patients registered with a diagnosis of rectal cancer between 2016 and 2017 and who underwent an abdominal resection were identified in the SCRCR. Medical charts were retrieved and reviewed until end of follow-up June 2022. The retrospectively collected data was compared to the data registered in the SCRCR. Result Of a total of 2994 registered patients, 161 were found not to meet the inclusion criteria and 123 had missing charts leaving 2710 patients included in this analysis. A total of 149 patients (5,5%) were found to be diagnosed with local recurrence. Of these 88 (59.1%) were registered in the SCRCR. There were 13 patients registered with local recurrence in the SCRCR with no local recurrence identified in the medical charts. Discussion There was a significant under-reporting of local recurrence in the SCRCR.
Waldenstedt et al. (Thu,) studied this question.