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ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Presence of Breast Cancer Information Recorded in United Kingdom Primary Care Databases: Comparison of CPRD Aurum and CPRD GOLD (Companion Paper 1)

ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon, , ORCID Icon & ORCID Icon
Pages 1183-1192 | Received 10 Aug 2023, Accepted 29 Nov 2023, Published online: 15 Dec 2023
 

Abstract

Purpose

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.

Disclosure

Ms Katrina Wilcox Hagberg, Dr Catherine Vasilakis-Scaramozza, Ms Rebecca Persson, and Dr Susan Jick report the Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program (employer) received contractual research grants from Amgen during the conduct of the study. Dr David Neasham and Dr George Kafatos are employees of Amgen Ltd and own shares of Amgen Inc. Dr Susan Jick reports she is a member of the Amgen Methods Council. The authors declare no other conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by Amgen, Ltd.