A comparison of relative survival and cause-specific survival methods to measure net survival in cancer populations.

While both CSS and RS aim to quantify net survival, the estimates tend to differ due to the biases present in both methodologies. Error when estimating CSS most frequently stems from misclassification of cause of death, whereas RS is subject to error when no suitable life tables are available. Appropriate use of CSS and RS requires a detailed understanding of the characteristics of the disease that may lead to differences in the estimates generated by these methods.