National Cancer Registry

Definition	A cancer registry is defined as a location, be it an office or institution, where collection, storage, analysis and interpretation of data on cancer patients take place (Jenson et al, 1991).
Objectives	- To measure cancer incidence - To describe cancer by time, place, persons and disease - To provide a national database for further epidemiological research
Case definition	Target cases are: - Incident cases by year of diagnosis - Malignant tumors confirmed by histopathology and/or hematology findings - Cancers of all sites
Sources of data	Data are collected through two main channels: the capture system (passive reporting) and the recapture system (active reporting). 1) The capture system: The capture system is based on physician’s routine reporting of cancer cases. Physician’s complete and send forms: - Directly from their clinic; or - Indirectly through the MOPH Drug Dispensing Center (DDC), where anti-cancer drugs are distributed to eligible patients 2) The recapture system: The recapture system is based on gathering information directly from histopathological and hematological laboratories. Data are collected in various ways, using hard or soft copies, or using database file or individual laboratory results depending on laboratories resources. This process is active since the NCR personnel actually contact the sites to obtain the necessary data. The recapture system validates and complements the capture approach.
Medical coding	The coding of cancer primary sites and cancer morphology is done using International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, third edition (ICD-O-3). The code includes information on the topography (primary site), the histology, the behavior and the grade of the tumor. The structure is C##.# M####/##, where: - C##.# specifies the primary site - M#### specifies the histology - /## specifies the behavior and the grade of the tumor
Reporting form	NCR reporting form

National Cancer Registry (NCR)