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Accuracy of Self‐Reported Personal History of Cancer in an Outpatient Breast Center
Author(s) -
Dominguez Francisco J.,
Lawrence Christine,
Halpern Elkan F.,
Drohan Brian,
Grinstein Georges,
Black Dalliah M.,
Smith Barbara L.,
Gadd Michele A.,
Specht Michele,
Kopans Daniel B.,
Moore Richard H.,
Hughes Sherwood S.,
Roche Constance A.,
Hughes Kevin S.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of genetic counseling
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.867
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1573-3599
pISSN - 1059-7700
DOI - 10.1007/s10897-006-9067-y
Subject(s) - medicine , breast cancer , cancer , family medicine , pacific islanders , cancer registry , medical record , family history , oncology , gynecology , population , environmental health
The self‐reporting of cancer history is becoming increasingly important, as it frequently guides medical decision‐making. We studied the accuracy of personal cancer history using a self‐administered questionnaire, comparing the results with the Tumor Registry at our institution. Among 39,662 records, we identified 3614 women with a single cancer in the Tumor Registry who reported none or one cancer on their questionnaire. The sensitivity in self‐reporting cancers was 85.7%, ranging from 92.1% for breast cancer to 42.9% for leukemia. The accuracy for breast cancer and Hodgkin's Lymphoma was significantly better than other cancers ( p =0.00027, CI: 1.4–3.88). Analysis of patient's characteristics showed that Caucasians reported breast cancer more accurately than Asian/Pacific Islanders ( p =0.008), and those with Jewish ancestry more accurately than non‐Jewish ( p =0.0435). These results will help us to improve data collection and thus improve medical decision‐making.