Pilot study of the ability to probabilistically link clinical trial patients to administrative data and determine long-term outcomes

BackgroundClinical trials are important but extremely costly. Utilization of routinely collected administrative data may simplify and enhance clinical trial data collection.PurposeThe aim of this study was to test the feasibility of use of administrative databases in Ontario, Canada, for long-term clinical trial follow-up, specifically (a) to determine whether limited patient identifiers held by the Canadian Cancer Trials Group can be used to probabilistically link with individuals in the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences databases and if so, (b) the level of concordance between the two data sets.MethodsThis retrospective study was conducted through collaboration of established health service (Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences) and clinical trial (Canadian Cancer Trials Group) research groups in the province of Ontario, Canada, where healthcare is predominantly funded by the government. Adults with pre-treated metastatic colorectal cancer previously enrolled in the Canadian Cancer Trials...