Population-based cancer registries aim to record relevant information about all cases of cancer diagnosed within a target population and have become a definitive resource for measuring cancer burden, and for understanding the causes of cancer and the prospects for cancer control.
This new publication provides essential guidance on the key steps in planning a registry, including accessing sources of information, monitoring the quality of the data and reporting results.
Dr Freddie Bray, Deputy Head of the IARC Section of Cancer Information, who coordinated the publication, explained: “Supporting countries in improving the quality of their cancer registry data has always been a high priority for IARC. These guidelines show that cancer registration is always possible, even in low-resource settings. With a concerted team effort as well as political commitment, it is possible to successfully develop a population-based cancer registry capable of delivering high-quality data for cancer surveillance and monitoring, and thus support the planning and evaluation of cancer services.”
Dr Roberto Zanetti, President of IACR, added: “Registry coverage with high-quality data remains well below 10% in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and there is an urgent need to support the initiation, expansion, and development of registries in many low- and middle-income countries. This new publication will provide invaluable guidance to all those who are seeking to establish or are in the early stages of developing a registry.”
‘Planning and developing population-based cancer registration in low- and middle-income settings’ is available in pdf format without charge, and can be downloaded from the IACR website.
Print and e-pub editions will soon be released, and French and Spanish versions are also in preparation.
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