Comparison between diagnoses in the Stockholm Regional Cancer Register and certified underlying causes of death.

Data in the Stockholm Regional Cancer Register were compared with death certificates for persons who died of carcinoma in 1978 and were domiciled in Stockholm County. Concordance between cancer register diagnosis and certified underlying cause of death was 87 per cent. Many malignant tumours in organs which often show metastases were unspecified by one of the registers. In many other cases of discordance, differing site codes denoted anatomically close-lying organs. Age distribution did not differ between concordant and discordant diagnostic groups. Coordination of the cancer register and the mortality statistics as regards coding routines and disease classification presumably would enhance inter-register comparability.