Validation of Cancer Diagnosis Based on the National Health Insurance Service Database versus the National Cancer Registry Database in Korea

PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess the feasibility of operational definitions of cancer patients in conducting cancer-related studies using the claims data from the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cancer incidence data were obtained from the Korean Central Cancer Registry, the NHIS primary diagnosis, and from the rare and intractable disease (RID) registration program. RESULTS: The operational definition with higher sensitivity for cancer patient verification was different by cancer type. Using primary diagnosis, the lowest sensitivity was found in colorectal cancer (91.5%; 95% confidence interval CI, 91.7 to 92.0) and the highest sensitivity was found in breast cancer (97.9%; 95% CI, 97.8 to 98.0). With RID, sensitivity was the lowest in liver cancer (91.9%; 95% CI, 91.7 to 92.0) and highest in breast cancer (98.1%; 95% CI, 98.0 to 98.2). In terms of the difference in the date of diagnosis in the cancer registration data, > 80% of the patients showed a < 31-day difference from the RID definition. CONCLUSION: Based on the NHIS data, the operational definition of cancer incidence is more accurate when using the RID registration program claims compared to using the primary diagnosis despite the relatively lower concordance by cancer type requires additional definitions such as treatment.