Conclusion: To ensure accurate population-based cancer survival rates, linkage with the National Death Index to ascertain out of state and late registered deaths is a necessary process for US central cancer registries.
To improve survival models linkage will be needed with primary care datasets where the most complete source of morbidity data is held.
The discrepancies could however also point to breed-specific associations between the PrP gene and genes controlling survival due to linkage disequilibrium.
JB assisted in the record linkage, conducted survival analyses and tests for heterogeneity and wrote part of the manuscript.
Sensitivity analyses using Cox models did not show any noteworthy difference of survival in function of linkage step or certainty of a correct link, when sex, age and wave was adjusted for.
The purpose of presenting only the overall item for this analysis is based on its universality and its demonstrated linkage to survival in a wide variety of patient populations.
Results of survival analyses were robust to linkage step or certainty of a correct link.
Their in-hospital and post discharge survival outcome was assessed by linkage to the WA Death Registry.
Ten-year survival status was determined through linkage to the Canadian Vital Statistics Database and was available for all of these 2740 participants.
Both the binary dead or alive and continuous hours of survival trait were used for linkage analysis.
