Cancer Registry

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 as well.

The National Program of Cancer Registries was established by Congress through the Cancer Registries Amendment Act in 1992, and administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).. 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 include; demographic information, medical history, diagnostic findings, cancer therapy and follow up details. 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.

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