N.Ireland Cancer Registry

 

Aim The History of The N.Ireland Cancer Registry Objectives Method of Operation Location : Population Figures

 

AIM

The purpose of the N. Ireland Cancer Registry (NICR) is to provide accurate, timely information on cancers occurring in the population of Northen Ireland to enable research, planning and education so the burden of disease may be reduced.

 

THE HISTORY OF THE N.IRELAND CANCER REGISTRY

The N. Ireland Cancer Registry was re-established in May 1994 under an agreement between the Department of Health & Social Services, Northern Ireland and the Queen’s University of Belfast.  The new Registry replaced an older incomplete, paper based Registry which had been established in 1959.  The new Registry retains the card records from the older Registry.  The Registry is part of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health in the School of Medicine, Queen’s University of Belfast.

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OBJECTIVES

Collect, analyse and store accurate, timely and comprehensive data on cancer. Uphold patient and carer confidentiality. Promote a research agenda for cancer. Facilitate and undertake research into cancer causes, treatments and outcomes. Facilitate planning of cancer services for prevention, diagnosis, cure and care. Assist professionals in audit of treatments, outcomes etc. (guidelines are available). Promote professional and public education in cancer causes, prevention, treatment and outcomes. Publish scientific reports and papers relating to cancer in Northern Ireland. Link nationally and internationally to increase understanding and control of cancer. Review activities and programmes of the Registry regularly to ensure the provision of high quality data on cancer. Provide appropriate information on cancer for ad hoc queries.

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METHOD OF OPERATION

The Cancer Registry collects its information electronically using the Patient Administration System (PAS ), the Pathology Laboratory Systems, and to a lesser extent, the Death Certificates and Radiology Laboratory  Systems.  Approximately 40,000 notifications are recorded annually. The data are checked electronically, for errors such as wrong site/morphology combinations and wrong sex/site combinations, using programmes from the International Association for Research on Cancer (IARC) and Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)  programme in the USA. Cases are then matched to identify duplicates or new cases.  In the majority of cases, each case received from the PAS system will have a pathology or cytology report confirming the diagnosis. However some cancer patients e.g. some lung cancer patients, may not have a microscopically verified tumour as material for a biopsy may be difficult to obtain. The case notes for these ‘PAS only’ cases are examined by trained Registry staff so that exact date and method of diagnosis can be assigned to the patient.  Additional information is also sought from GP records of cases notified to the Registry solely from death registrations.

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Last Update: 17th September 1999 By Jill Stirling