Coverage of oncology drug indication concepts and compositional semantics by SNOMED-CT.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate SNOMED-CT 's ability to represent simple and compositional concepts in FDA approved oncology drug indications. METHODS: Oncology drug indications were decomposed into single and compositional concepts. SNOMED-CT's coverage of single concepts and the semantics needed to create compositional concepts were evaluated using automated and manual techniques. RESULTS: SNOMED-CT covered 86.3% of single concepts present in oncology drug indications; 11.3% of indications were covered completely. Coverage was best for concepts describing diseases, anatomy, and patient characteristics. Medications accounted for 50.5% of missing concepts. Excluding drug names, 45.2% of indications were completely represented. SNOMED-CT's semantics completely represented 60.1% of compositional expressions. CONCLUSIONS: SNOMED-CT's overall coverage of the concepts in oncology drug indications was good. Improvements or alternatives are needed for medications and semantics.