Cancer registry

The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. (September 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

A cancer registry is a systematic collection of data about cancer and tumor diseases. The data are collected by Cancer Registrars. Cancer Registrars capture a complete summary of patient history, diagnosis, treatment, and status for every cancer patient in the United States, and other countries.^[1]

The Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) was established in 1973 as a result of the National Cancer Act of 1971. The National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) was established by Congress through the Cancer Registries Amendment Act in 1992, and administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).^[2] NPCR and SEER together collect cancer data for the entire U.S. population. CDC and NCI, in collaboration with the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, have been publishing annual federal cancer statistics in the United States Cancer Statistics: Incidence and Mortality report. Information maintained in the cancer registry includes: demographic information, medical history, diagnostic findings, cancer therapy and follow up details.^[3] The data is used to evaluate patient outcome, quality of life, provide follow-up information, calculate survival rates, analyze referral pattern, allocate resources at regional or state level, report cancer incidence as required under state law, and evaluate efficacy of treatment modalities.^[3]

There exist population-based cancer registries, hospital cancer registries (also called hospital-based cancer registries), and special purpose registries.