OBJECTIVES: Quality Assurance (QA) is the backbone of clinical data abstraction. Quality Control (QC) procedures provide confidence in the completeness and accuracy of critical data elements. QA determines the value of data collected for cancer control initiatives using real-world evidence (RWE), supporting delivery of patient care and research. Meaningful insights can only be drawn from quality data.

METHODS: Syapse’s RWE platform combines data from diverse sources, curating a comprehensive view of the patient journey, creating powerful insights that impact patient care. Certified Tumors Registrars (CTRs) enrich Syapse data integrated from community health systems in the United States via technology-enabled curation. CTRs possess specialized expertise regarding oncology data, enabling nuanced curation of data surrounding patient care. Datasets are tested for quality using the Syapse QC model. This consists of metrics conforming to oncology Standard Setters–professional organizations and government agencies who set stringent requirements for cancer data collection. Syapse developed a proprietary Average Accuracy Rate (AAR) calculation, measuring concordance between abstractors, weighing data elements based on importance to the dataset (e.g., greater weight for histology given the cruciality of understanding the patient’s diagnosis). Syapse CTRs are required to maintain a standard of 95% or greater overall accuracy.

RESULTS: 5,468 patient cases were randomly selected in 2021-2022 from the Syapse Learning Health Network. These underwent quality review, receiving an overall AAR of 97.0%. Cancer cohorts included: Acute Myeloid Leukemia, receiving an AAR of 97.8%; Bladder 97.1%; Breast 97.2%; Lung 97.9%; Ovarian 96.7%, and Prostate 97.3%.

CONCLUSIONS: Through the development of robust QC processes for technology-enabled curation, Syapse CTRs enrich oncology RWD to generate RWE, supporting oncology patient care and research for a network of community health systems. With an overall AAR of 97.0% across disease sites, quality data is the foundation of RWE.