Which patients are not included in the English Cancer Waiting Times monitoring dataset, 2009–2013? Implications for use of the data in research

BACKGROUND: Cancer waiting time targets are routinely monitored in England, but the Cancer Waiting Times monitoring dataset (CWT) does not include all eligible patients, introducing scope for bias. METHODS: Data from adults diagnosed in England (2009–2013) with colorectal, lung, or ovarian cancer were linked from CWT to cancer registry, mortality, and Hospital Episode Statistics data. We present demographic characteristics and net survival for patients who were and were not included in CWT. RESULTS: A CWT record was found for 82% of colorectal, 76% of lung, and 77% of ovarian cancer patients. Patients not recorded in CWT were more likely to be in the youngest or oldest age groups, have more comorbidities, have been diagnosed through emergency presentation, have late or missing stage, and have much poorer survival. CONCLUSIONS: Researchers and policy-makers should be aware of the limitations in the completeness and representativeness of CWT, and draw conclusions with appropriate caution.