Researchers at University of Greifswald Report New Data on Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (Concept and feasibility of privacy-preserving record linkage of cancer registry data and claims data in Germany: results from the DigiNet study on stage IV …): Oncology – Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

2025 DEC 15 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Current study results on Oncology - Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer have been published. According to news reporting from Greifswald, Germany, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “While cancer registry and health insurance data are valuable resources for oncological health services research, these are rarely linked at the individual level due to data protection concerns and technical limitations. The prospective, controlled cohort study DigiNet aims to optimize personalized care for patients with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the German study regions Berlin, Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia.”

Financial support for this research came from Universitatsmedizin Greifswald.

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from the University of Greifswald, “The population-based control group (pCG) was identified through cohort matching within the participating cancer registries. For health economic analyses, case-specific linkage of cancer registry data with claims data without informed consent was required. A privacy-preserving record linkage (PPRL) concept was developed, ensuring that no conclusions about individual identities can be drawn. The approach relied on irreversible encryption of the statutory health insurance number (KVNR) within the data-holding institutions, using a study-specific configuration of a publicly available software. Following cohort matching in the cancer registries, N = 9,597 pCG cases with stage IV NSCLC diagnosis between June 2022 and March 2024 were identified. Of these, n = 1,437 (15.0%) had insurance coverage with one of three participating statutory health insurance funds and were eligible for PPRL. Among those, 94.2% (N = 1,354) were successfully linked with claims data. A trusted third party performed the linkage based on encrypted identifiers, removed the linkage keys, and provided the data to the evaluating parties. This study demonstrates the feasibility of PPRL of cancer registry and claims data in a real-world oncological research setting.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “The concept is transferable to other research contexts requiring secure, identifier-based linkage without disclosure of personal identifiers.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Concept and feasibility of privacy-preserving record linkage of cancer registry data and claims data in Germany: results from the DigiNet study on stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology, 2025;152(1):6. Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology can be contacted at: Springer, One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, Ny, United States. (Springer - www.springer.com; Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology - http://www.springerlink.com/content/0171-5216/)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Anika Kastner, Institute for Community Medicine, Section Epidemiology of Health Care and Community Health, University of Greifswald, Ellernholzstraße 1-2, 17487, Greifswald, Germany. Additional authors for this research include Christopher Hampf, Pia Naumann, Lizon Fiedler-Lacombe, Anna Kron, Anna Spier, Dusan Simic, Leonie Eilers, Aleksandra Graw, Sebastian Bartholomaus, Andreas Stang, Daniela Reil, Renate Kirschner-Schwabe, Jessica Isabel Selig, Jorg Wulff and Pat.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-025-06384-7. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Publisher contact information for the Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology is: Springer, One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, Ny, United States.

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