BACKGROUND
China has accumulated large amount of cancer-related data from multiple sources. Studies have thoroughly reviewed Chinese healthcare systems and emphasized the importance to promote data utilization while there is no study illustrating the utilization status of cancer-related databases.
OBJECTIVE
To understand data utilization of major cancer-related databases in China and promote further researches in healthcare data systems.
METHODS
A bibliometric analysis was applied on peer-reviewed publications using 15 representative cancer-related databases classified as cancer registry, medical insurance database, hospital-based database, and publicly accessible database according to source of data collection in China. Peer-reviewed articles written in English or Chinese, indexed in PubMed, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Wanfang Data (in Chinese), and published since database inception to December 2021 were included. Data was analysed in November 2022. Bibliometric parameters were extracted to describe the numbers, quality, and research contents of published articles. The quality of the publications was described by total citation, journal impact factors (2020 edition) and Journal Citation Reports quartile (JCR, 2020 edition). Research contents were demonstrated by cancer sites and research topics. Between-group comparisons were made using Kruskal-Wallis H test or Fisher-Freeman-Halton exact test, as appropriate.
RESULTS
Of 1037 articles included, 637 was from cancer registries, 313 from hospital-based databases, 65 from medical insurance databases and 22 from public databases. An upward trend in annul number of publications was observed. Articles published in Chinese were nearly two-fold of those in English. Papers based on cancer registry, publicly accessible databases and the joint exploration of medical insurance databases were mainly published in journals of JCR Q2. The distribution of JCR quartiles and total citations were significantly different for the four data sources (P<0.0001). Lung, stomach, colorectal were most studied cancer sites while cancer incidence, mortality and prognosis were most focused research interests.
CONCLUSIONS
The upward trend in publication number was mainly contributed by articles from registries. The limited number of publications in English might weaken the impact of sharing research findings generated from Chinese data, in the international community. It highlights the importance of promoting data accessibility and utilization from various sources in China.
CLINICALTRIAL
None