Cancer Incidence in Older Adults in the United States: Characteristics, Specificity, and Completeness of the Data.

Loss of reported tumor specificity with age is consistent with fewer hospital reports. However, the majority of cancers diagnosed in older patients, including those aged ≥95 years, were positively confirmed and were reported with known site, histology, and stage information. The high percentage of DCO cases among patients aged ≥85 years suggests the need to explore additional sources of follow-back to help possibly identify an earlier incidence report. Interstate data exchange following National Death Index linkages may help registries identify and remove erroneous DCO cases from their databases.