ICBP Publications

Module 1: SURVMARK-2 Publications

Publication title	Journal	Published	Lead author	Summary
Changes in colorectal cancer incidence in seven high-income countries: a population-based study	Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol	May 2019	Marzieh Araghi	Shows that in the incidence of colon and rectal cancer in adults younger than 50 years has increased substantially over the latest available 10-year period in several high-income countries, going against a decline or stabilisation trend in the incidence of colorectal cancers within the overall populations of high-income countries.
Colon and rectal cancer survival in seven high-income countries 2010–2014: variation by age and stage at diagnosis (the ICBP SURVMARK-2 project)	Gut	Jun 2021	Marzieh Araghi	Examines colon and rectal cancer survival by age and stage at diagnosis across the ICBP countries, to dissect the potential role of early detection and treatment in survival differences.
Age disparities in stage-specific colon cancer survival across seven countries: An International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership SURVMARK-2 population-based study	IJC	Apr 2021	Sophie Pilleron	Examines the role of stage at diagnosis in the observed age disparities in colon cancer survival across the ICBP countries (for people aged 50-99 years).
Exploring variations in ovarian cancer survival by age and stage (ICBP SurvMark-2): A population-based study	Gyecol Oncol	Jan 2020	Citadel J Cabasag	Explores ovarian cancer survival differences by age and stage at diagnosis across the ICBP countries.
International trends in oesophageal cancer survival by histological subtype between 1995 and 2014	Gut	Jun 2017	Eileen Morgan	Reports trends in oesophageal cancer incidence and survival for the two main histological subtypes (adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma). It investigates sub-type specific survival differences by period of diagnosis, country, age group and sex.
Ovarian cancer in Manitoba: trends in incidence and survival, 1992-2011	Current Oncology	Apr 2017	Paul Lambert	Explores trends in ovarian cancer incidence and survival in Manitoba
Comparison of liver cancer incidence and survival by subtypes across seven high-income countries	Int J Cancer	Dec 2021	Mark Rutherford	Reports trends in liver cancer subtypes survival and incidence across the ICBP countries and to understand variations in coding practises
International trends in oesophageal cancer survival by histological subtype between 1995 and 2014	Gut	Feb 2021	Eileen Morgan	Provide an overview of oesophageal cancer survival by histological subtype across the ICBP countries
International variation in oesophageal and gastric cancer survival 2012-2014: differences by histological subtype and stage at diagnosis (an ICBP SURVMARK-2 population-based study)	Gut	Nov 2021	Melina Arnold	Provides international comparisons of oseophageal and gastric cancer survival by stage at diagnosis and histological subtype across the ICBP countries
The impact of reclassifying cancers of unspecified histology on international differences in survival for small cell and non-small cell lung cancer (ICBP SurvMark-2 project)	Int J Cancer	Sep 2021	Eileen Morgan	Explores how variations in small-cell and non-small cell lung cancer may influence international differences in survival across the ICBP countries
International differences in lung cancer survival by sex, histological type and stage at diagnosis: an ICBP SURVMARK-2 Study	Thorax	Apr 2022	Marzieh Araghi	Reports on international trends in lung cancer incidence and survival for the two main histological subtypes (non-small cell and small cell). It investigates sub-type specific survival differences by country, age group and sex.
Population-based cancer staging for oesophageal, gastric, and pancreatic cancer 2012-2014: International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership SurvMark-2	Int J Cancer	Sep 2021	Citadel J Cabasag	Present the development of an internationally validated TMN to SEER staging algorithm for oesophageal, gastric and pancreatic cancers.
CanStaging+: an electronic staging tool for population-based cancer registries	Lancet Oncol	Aug 2021	Isabelle Soerjomataram	Describe the first internationally validated, open-source Cancer staging tool. Based on International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership data, CanStaging+ addresses unmet needs in staging accuracy, completeness and comparability. The tool can be visited at https://canstaging.org/tool
Pancreatic cancer survival by stage and age in seven high-income countries (ICBP SURVMARK-2): a population-based study	Br J Cancer	March 2022	Citadel J Cabasag	Compares the stage distribution of patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer between 2012-2014 , the role of stage at diagnosis in international cancer survival differences can be explored.
Five ways to improve international comparisons of cancer survival: lessons learned from ICBP SURVMARK-2	Br J Cancer	May 2022	Therese M.-L. Andersson	Outlines five recommendations based on experiences in the ICBP to improve the completeness and accuracy of cancer registry data including using multiple sources, inputting more patient details, and having more stringent tracking of death information
Stage at diagnosis and ovarian cancer survival: evidence from the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership	Gynecol Oncol	Oct 2012	Camille Maringe	Reports international differences in stage at diagnosis and considers the impact on breast cancer survival between Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway and the UK
Breast cancer survival and stage at diagnosis in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the UK, 2000-2007: a population-based study	BJC	Mar 2013	Sarah Walters	Reports international differences in stage at diagnosis and considers the impact on breast cancer survival between Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the UK.
Stage at diagnosis and colorectal cancer survival in six high-income countries: A population-based study of patients diagnosed during 2000–2007	Acta Oncol	Apr 2013	Camille Maringe	Examines lung cancer survival by stage at diagnosis across the ICBP countries
Lung cancer survival and stage at diagnosis in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the UK: a population-based study, 2004–2007	Thorax	Jun 2013	Sarah Walters	Reports international differences in stage at diagnosis and considers the impact on lung cancer survival between Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the UK.

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Module 2: Awareness, Attitudes and Beliefs

Publication title	Journal	Published	Lead Author	Summary
Recognition of cancer warning signs and anticipated delay in help-seeking in a population sample of adults in the UK	British Journal of Cancer	Oct 2013	Samantha L Quaife	Many cancer patients report not going to a doctor because they did not realise a symptom was 'suspicious'. The authors examined how long members of the population would report waiting to visit a doctor if they had specific symptoms, and if they were associated with low awareness of these symptoms as indicative of cancer.
Differences in cancer awareness and beliefs between Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the UK (the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership): do they contribute to differences in cancer survival?	Br J Cancer	Dec 2014	L J L Forbes	Shows that across participating jurisdictions, awareness and beliefs are similar, but people report different reasons for not going to their doctor with worrying symptoms.
An international measure of awareness and beliefs about cancer: development and testing of the ABC	BMJ Open	Dec 2018	Alice E Simon	Explores whether international variation in cancer survival could be explained by different beliefs and awareness about cancer in the general population, a telephone survey was carried out in people over 50 years of age.
Ovarian cancer symptom awareness and anticipated delayed presentation in a population sample	BMC Cancer	Mar 2014	Kate E Brain	Explores awareness and recognition of symptoms of ovarian cancer in the general population. Lower awareness of these symptoms was reported when the symptoms related to eating difficulties and changes in bladder or bowel habits.
Self-reported participation and beliefs about bowel cancer screening in New South Wales, Australia	Health Prom J Australia	Jul 2014	Megan Varlow	Reports on the responses of the ABC survey from around 2,000 participants in New South Wales. The authors report misunderstanding about the use of screening tests for bowel cancer, with many respondents incorrectly believing screening should only occur when experiencing symptoms.
Cancer awareness and socio-economic position: results from a population-based study in Denmark	BMC Cancer	Aug 2014	Line Hvidberg	Reports the ABC survey responses from around 3,000 members of the Danish general population and shows a strong socioeconomic gradient in cancer awareness, suggesting targeting and tailoring of public health messages to this group.
Barriers to healthcare seeking, beliefs about cancer and the role of socio-economic position. A Danish population-based study	Preventive Medicine	Dec 2014	Line Hvidberg	Reports that respondents in Denmark were most likely to report ‘worry about what the doctor might find’ and ‘worry about wasting the doctor’s time’ as reasons for not going to see their doctor. Shows that a lower socioeconomic background was associated with negative cancer beliefs.
Socioeconomic inequalities in attitudes towards cancer: an International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership study	European J Cancer Prev	Mar 2015	Samantha L Quaife	Compares socioeconomic differences in positive and negative attitudes towards cancer in respondents from England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Reports strong agreement across all respondents towards the positively framed statements in the survey, but differences across socioeconomic groups in the negatively framed statements.
Smoking is associated with pessimistic and avoidant beliefs about cancer: results from the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership	British Journal of Cancer	May 2015	Samantha L Quaife	Reports on 7,000 surveys collected from UK nations (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) and shows that smokers held more pessimistic beliefs about cancer. Indicates that people who smoke may be less likely to go to their doctor when they have symptoms.
Awareness of sunburn in childhood, use of sunbeds and change of moles in Denmark, Northern Ireland, Norway and Sweden	European J Public Health	Jun 2015	Senada Hajdarevic	Explores the awareness of risk factors and symptoms of malignant melanoma in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Northern Ireland. Report low awareness of ‘sunburn in childhood’ as a risk factor and differences across jurisdictions in awareness.
Awareness of risk factors for cancer: a comparative study of Sweden and Denmark	BMC Public Health	Nov 2015	Magdalena Lagerlund	Reports that cancer outcomes in Denmark and Sweden to be different in the original ICBP cancer survival benchmark, yet the neighbouring countries have similar healthcare systems, economies and culture. Supports previous findings of modest public awareness to many established cancer risk factors.
Awareness of cancer symptoms and anticipated patient interval for healthcare seeking. A comparative study of Denmark and Sweden	Acta Oncologica	Feb 2016	Line Hvidberg	Reports differences in cancer survival outcomes between Sweden and Denmark, with Sweden having higher survival for breast, colorectal and lung cancers. Shows a higher symptom awareness and shorter anticipated delay in Denmark, which does not explain survival differences between jurisdiction
Measurement properties of the Danish version of the Awareness and Beliefs about Cancer (ABC) measure	BMC Med Res Methodology	Apr 2017	Line Hvidberg	Reports the validity testing exercises and analyses carried out to confirm the Danish ABC is accepted and understood by the target Danish (general) population.
Cancer beliefs in cancer survivors, cancer relatives and persons with no cancer experience	Scandinavian J Public Health	Jul 2017	Anette Pedersen	Compares responses from the general population in Denmark who participated in the original study, to whether they, or someone close, had been diagnosed with cancer, or not at all. Suggests that cancer beliefs are impacted by a person’s experience of cancer and negative beliefs should be addressed and reframed within populations.
Influences on anticipated time to ovarian cancer symptom presentation in women at increased risk compared to population risk of ovarian cancer	BMC Cancer	Oct 2017	Stephanie Smits	Examines the factors influencing women’s anticipated time to presentation when presenting potential ovarian cancer symptoms
Negative cancer beliefs, recognition of cancer symptoms and anticipated time to help-seeking: an international cancer benchmarking partnership (ICBP) study	BMC Cancer	Apr 2018	Anette Pedersen	Examines relationship between negative cancer beliefs, recognition of cancer symptoms, and anticipated patient intervals

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Module 3: The Role of Primary Care Provider

Publication title	Journal	Published	Lead Author	Summary
Family physician access to and wait times for cancer diagnostic investigations	Canadian Family Physician	Oct 2016	Adriana Barisic	Examines provincial and regional differences in Family Physicians’ direct access to cancer diagnostic investigations to explore perceptions about wait times
International variation in adherence to referral guidelines for suspected cancer: a secondary analysis of survey data	British J General Practice	Jan 2016	Brian D Nicholson	Compares responses from primary care physicians in Manitoba, Ontario and British Columbia (Canada), looking at differences in access to diagnostic tests and wait times for results across provinces.
How might healthcare systems influence speed of cancer diagnosis: A narrative review	Soc Sci Med	Sept 2014	Sally Brown	Compares several characteristics of the participating jurisdictions. Reports many similarities but also differences in centralisation, patient movement, access to secondary care and list systems.
Development of a survey instrument to investigate the primary care factors related to differences in cancer diagnosis between international jurisdictions	BMC Family Practice	June 2014	Peter Rose	Presents a survey developed to explore differences in the readiness of primary care physicians (PCPs) to investigate for cancer. The survey asks a set of direct questions about the health system the PCP operates in, as well as five clinical scenarios asking how they would manage the patient.
Investigations and referral for suspected cancer in primary care in New Zealand – A survey linked to the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership	European J of Cancer	Jan 2017	Han Win Htun	The core survey was also carried out by primary care practitioners in New Zealand, to understand the context in which these doctors work, their access to tests, and how they would respond to patients presenting with symptoms.
Explaining variation in cancer survival between 11 jurisdictions in the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership: a primary care vignette survey	BMJ Open	May 2015	Peter Rose	Reports on the survey results of 2,800 primary care physicians (PCPs) to understand how they would manage patients presenting with symptoms (if they would investigate or refer). These responses were then compared to 1- and 5-year survival across jurisdictions and studied ICBP cancer type.
Unconditional and conditional incentives differentially improved general practitioners' participation in an online survey: randomized controlled trial	J Clin Epidemiol	June 2015	Jane M Young	Analyses the impact of different incentives on the response rate to the primary care vignette survey by by primary care physicians in New South Wales, Australia, different incentives were given in order to increase the response rate.

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Module 4: Measuring time interval and pathways from symptoms to diagnosis and treatment

Publication title	Journal	Published	Lead Author	Summary
An investigation of routes to cancer diagnosis in 10 international jurisdictions, as part of the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership: survey development and implementation	BMJ Open	Jul 2016	David Weller	Compares results from an internationally validated survey looking at how patients move through their cancer journey by international. Surveys were sent to recently diagnosed breast, colorectal, lung and ovarian cancer patients and their doctors.
Patient perspectives on delays in diagnosis and treatment of cancer: a qualitative analysis of free-text data	British J General Practice	Nov 2016	Rachel Parsonage	Explores patients’ cancer journey included free text question by asking patients to describe their experience of being diagnosed with cancer within the Wales health system.
Time intervals and routes to diagnosis for lung cancer in 10 jurisdictions: cross-sectional study findings from the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP)	BMJ Open	Nov 2019	Usha Menon	Compares lung cancer patient characteristics and routes to diagnosis via survey of cancer patients, their primary care practitioners and cancer treatment specialists
Diagnostic routes and time intervals for ovarian cancer in nine international jurisdictions; findings from the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP)	Br J Cancer	May 2022	Usha Menon	Compares ovarian cancer patient characteristics and routes to diagnosis via survey of cancer patients, their primary care practitioners and cancer treatment specialists
Diagnostic routes and time intervals for patients with colorectal cancer in 10 international jurisdictions; findings from a cross-sectional study from the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP)	BMJ Open	Nov 2019	David Weller	Compares colorectal cancer patient characteristics and routes to diagnosis via survey of cancer patients, their primary care practitioners and cancer treatment specialists
Rural-urban disparities in time to diagnosis and treatment for colorectal and breast cancer	Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev	July 2018	Rebecca J Bergin	Investigates time to diagnosis and treatment for rural and urban patients with colorectal or breast cancer in Victoria, Australia

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Module 5: Impact of Differences in Cancer Registry Processes

Publication title	Journal	Published	Lead Author	Summary
Impact of variation in cancer registration practice on observed international cancer survival differences between International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP) jurisdictions	Cancer Epidemiol	Feb 2019	Micheal Eden	Reports on key informant perspectives of differences in registration practice for capturing incidence date, death certificate case handling and registration of multiple primary tumours.
Can different definitions of date of cancer incidence explain observed international variation in cancer survival? An ICBP SURVMARK-2 study	Cancer Epidemiol	Aug 2020	Tor ÅgeMyklebust	Investigates the impact of including or excluding death certificate-initiated cancer cases (DCI); the role of cancer registry completeness in cancer survival estimates; and the impact of using different definitions of date of cancer incidence.
The impact of excluding or including Death Certificate Initiated (DCI) cases on estimated cancer survival: A simulation study	Cancer Epidemiol	Apr 2021	Therese M.-L. Andersson	Estimates the impact of including Death Certificate Initiated (DCI) cases on estimated cancer survival
Exploring the impact of cancer registry completeness on international cancer survival differences: a simulation study	BJC	Dec 2020	Therese M.-L. Andersson	Explores whether differences in cancer registry practices between the ICBP countries play a role in the observed international variation in cancer survival.
Investigation of the international comparability of population-based routine hospital data set derived comorbidity scores for patients with lung cancer	Thorax	Apr 2018	Margreet Lüchtenborg	Investigates whether patients who die shortly after a cancer diagnosis may be more likely to be living with one or more health conditions (comorbidities) which could affect their chances of surviving. This is the first study to try to make international comparisons of commonly used measures of comorbidity derived from routine, population-based administrative health datasets for lung cancer patients.
A way to explore the existence of "immortals" in cancer registry data - An illustration using data from ICBP SURVMARK-2	Cancer Epidemiol	Feb 2022	Therese M-L. Andersson	Outlines a methodology to explore the presence of ‘immortals’ - wrongly assumed long-term survivors on the cancer registry database , whose deaths have been missed - that can be utilised by cancer registries for a preliminary check to detect whether a significant proportion of missed deaths (e.g. failure of matching and/or tracking)
Comparability of stage data in cancer registries in six countries: Lessons from the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership	IJC	May 2012	Sarah Walters	Describes how stage data may be reconciled to optimise comparability in population-based international comparisons of stage-specific cancer outcomes

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Publication title	Journal	Published	Lead author	Summary
A comparative analysis: international variation in PET-CT service provision in oncology—an International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership study	Int J Qual Health Care	Nov 2020	Charlotte Lynch	Explores differences in the provision of PET-CT services across ICBP countries, to gain an insight into the variation of a key diagnostic and staging tool.
Variation in suspected cancer referral pathways across the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership: a comparative analysis	BJGP	June 2022	Charlotte Lynch	Identifies several key areas of high-level variation across international referral pathways to facilitate understanding of potential best practises

Publication title	Journal	Published	Lead author	Summary
“There’s Not Enough Bodies to Do the Demand:” An Exploration of Key Stakeholder Views on the Role of Health Service Capacity in Shaping Cancer Outcomes in 7 International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership Countries	Int J Qual Health Care	Dec 2020	Maureen Seguin	Explored key stakeholder perceptions of the role of health system capacity necessary for cancer care, that may be influencing cancer survival across the ICBP countries.
Understanding the link between health systems and cancer survival: A novel methodological approach using a system-level conceptual model	J Cancer Policy	Sep 2020	Melanie Morris	Presents a conceptual logic model to highlight the complex interactions of health system factors along the cancer patient pathway. This can be used as a tool for health systems to identify where to focus efforts and system improvements.
Exploring the Role of Leadership in Facilitating Change to Improve Cancer Survival: An Analysis of Experiences in Seven High Income Countries in the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP)	Int J Qual Health Care	Aug 2020	Melanie Morris	Explores how international caner survival might be influenced by the role of leadership in systems providing cancer care
Exploring the link between cancer policies and cancer survival: a comparison of International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership countries	Policy Overview	Sept 2022	Ellen Nolte	This is the first study to systematically compare the evolution (1995-2014) of cancer policies across high-income countries to develop an index of cancer policy consistency over time. This index was linked to previous ICBP survival data from the same period for relatively common cancers (lung, colon, rectum) and those that are hard to treat (ovarian, pancreas, stomach, and oesophagus)

Publication title	Journal	Published	Lead author	Summary
New approaches to cancer care in a COVID-19 world	Lancet Oncol	Jul 2020	John Butler	Present key recommendations developed alongside cancer surgeons for cancer surgery, specifically, to reduce the impacts of COVID-19.
Do perceived barriers to clinical presentation affect anticipated time to presenting with cancer symptoms: An ICBP Study	European J of Public Health	Jun 2017	Conan Donnelly	Compares the relationship between reported barriers to attending primary care and anticipated help seeking (how long respondents said they would wait before going to visit their doctor) for ICBP cancer types. Respondents associate barriers to a longer wait to visit their doctor, meaning more work should be done to understand why people put off going to their doctor.

ICBP Publications

Quick links to publications

Module 1: Benchmarking Publications

Module 1: SURVMARK-2 Publications

Module 2: Awareness, Attitudes and Beliefs

Module 3: The Role of Primary Care Provider

Module 4: Measuring time interval and pathways from symptoms to diagnosis and treatment

Module 5: Impact of Differences in Cancer Registry Processes

Module 6: Access to Treatments

Module 7: Access to Diagnoses

Module 8: Cancer Health System

Module 9: Cancer Patient Pathways

Module 1: New Approaches to Cancer Care in a COVID World

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