International participants were somewhat bemused to find a sorceress and
helpers clad in paint and scanty garments running at intervals around the
auditorium and screeching loudly during the formal opening ceremony - but their
function of casting out evil spirits and bringing good augurs to the meeting
was successful.
IACR President, Dr John Young, was honoured by the Chiefs of Grand Bassam, an
became a village chief with the name of Kablam (his wife, Lynda, becoming
Abrema) during a conference dinner held beside the sea in Grand Bassam.
This year’s meeting, which will take place on 17-19 August in Atlanta, Georgia,
USA will address Genetics and population-based cancer research as a main topic.
Information on the program and organisation of the meeting are available on the
IACR web-site (http://www.iacr.com.fr) and that for the meeting place in
Atlanta http://www.sph.emory.edu/GCCS/ IACR98/.
Members of the Association continue to collaborate with the International
Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in the production of technical reports and
collaborative projects on cancer incidence. Many of you sent careful and
considered replies to the questionnaire sent out this year asking for terms
used by local pathologists which are not currently in ICD-O. For a report of
results to date see ‘The third revision of the International Classification of
Diseases for Oncology’, below.
Don’t forget that the Calum Muir Memorial Fellowship is being offered for the
first time this year. It is intended to help personnel working in cancer
registries to spend some time in host institutions/registries which can offer
learning opportunities not available in the home institute. A candidate may be
awarded a fellowship to attend workshops or training courses concerning
registration, epidemiology and the use of registry data in cancer control.
Forms may be obtained from the Secretariat in Lyon, France and will shortly be
available on the web site.
Meetings in 1999 and 2000
Next year’s meeting will take place in Europe, in Lisbon, the capital of
Portugal. The hosts of the meeting will present proposals about themes, dates
and practical arrangements to the Executive during this year’s meeting in
Atlanta.
Invitations for the year 2000 have been received from China and from Thailand -
the choice will be a difficult one, not least because both the inviting hosts
have made a great job of presented the tempting tourist attractions of their
countries. Again, the Executive in Atlanta will take the decision.
Awards
Congratulations to Dr Gao Yu-Tang, Cancer Registry of Shanghai, and to Dr
Shanta, from the Madras Metropolitan Tumour Registry, for being awarded
Honorary Membership of the Association on the occasion of the 1997 scientific
meeting in Abidjan. Both of these distinguished IACR members developed and
directed cancer registries in their own countries, and made a significant
contribution to the development of cancer registration in China and in India
respectively.
Election results
Voting members of the Association have just taken part in a ballot to elect new
Regional Representatives for South America, North America, Asia and Europe. The
new representatives are:
Dr Edwin Carrascal, from the Cali Cancer Registry in Colombia, replacing Dr
Fabian Corral from Ecuador, for Central and South America.
Dr Eric Holowaty for North America, replacing Dr Vivien Chen from Louisiana,
USA. He is from the Ontario Cancer Registry in Canada, and hosted the 1992 IACR
meeting.
Dr Leo Schouten, replacing Dr Isabel Izarzugaza from Spain. He is from
Maastricht in the Netherlands (and hosted the 1989 IACR meeting).
Dr Vanchai Vatanasapt from Khon Kaen in Thailand, who replaces Dr Kiyohiko
Mabuchi from Hiroshima, Japan (and is one of the contenders for the meeting in
2000).
They will remain in office for four years.
The thanks of the IACR Executive and members are given to the outgoing
representatives for their hard work and help during their time on the Executive
of the Association. Particular thanks are given to Dr David Thomas (Seattle,
USA), past President of the Association who held the position of ex-officio
President during the term of office of Dr Calum Muir, and generously agreed to
continue as ex-officio President during the first two years of the Executive
Board elected in 1996 following the death of Calum Muir.
Affiliation with the scientific journal
1996 was the first year of the Association’s affiliation with the journal
Cancer Causes and Control. There have been numerous problems with circulation
of this journal to members, as all too many of you can testify. It was hoped
that these would be resolved following meetings with a representative of the
publisher in late-1996, but unfortunately this has not proved to be the case.
These problems, together with a lack of editorial consultation with IACR,
resulted in a decision to terminate the relationship. Cancer Causes and Control
is still available at a reduced price to members for this year, but is no
longer the official journal of the Association.
Negotiations with other journals have been taking place, and the Executive will
decide on a new official journal in Atlanta.
News from the Regions
1996-1997
David Roder, from the South Australian Cancer Registry, is the first Regional
Representative for Oceania in the Association. This position was created in
recognition of the need for separate coverage of this large area, which is so
geographically and culturally distinct from Asia.
Oceania
Prepared by David Roder
French Polynesia
A population-based registry first commenced operation in French
Polynesia in 1981. Four years later, in 1985, legislation was passed
authorising cancer registration. The registry was developed with support in the
early years from the South Pacific Commission, the University of Southern
California at Los Angeles, and the University of Hawaii. Between 300 and 400
new cases are notified annually for a population of around 220,000 (1996
estim.) distributed across five archipelagos and 188 main islands. These cases
exclude people with non-melanocytic skin lesions. Approximately 83% of the
population are Polynesians, and around 50% are aged under 20 years.
Data sources for the registry include histopathology and cytology reports, and
death certificates. Reports of evacuations for medical treatment, usually to
France or New Zealand, also are used for case detection. While voluntary
reporting by treating doctors is encouraged, the level of compliance is not
high. Case ascertainment is about 85% from the multiple data sources. An
important limitation is the lack of authorised access of registry staff to the
hospital records for cancer data collection.
Registry data are published for multiple-year periods, the most recent being
1990-1995. Meanwhile, 1988-1992 data have been included in Cancer Incidence in
Five Continents Volume VII.
The registry has been used in a range of epidemiological studies. One presently
underway is investigating cancer incidence in relation to residential proximity
to nuclear test sites. A Working Group, comprising health/medical researchers
and radiation scientists, is responsible for this investigation.
Comparisons of incidence rates with those for France point to a high incidence
locally of female lung and thyroid cancer. It is suspected that multiple
counting may have contributed to these high rates, although similar rates have
been suggested for females in other Pacific Islands. The possibility that
duplicates may have contributed is being assessed as part of a current study.
New Caledonia
A population-based registry was established in New Caledonia in 1977. It
has been administered by the Pathology Department of the Institut Pasteur de
Nouvelle-Caledonie. The registry covers a population of around 200,000 (1996
census) of whom 44% are Melanesian and 34% are European. Almost 40% are under
20 years of age. A total of 435 cancer cases was reported to the registry in
1995. It included a relatively high number of thyroid cancers among
Melanesians, particularly females. Other leading cancers in New Caledonia
included lung and colorectal cancers, female breast cancers and, in Melanesian
females, cervical cancers. Prostate cancer was the second leading incident site
(2nd to lung cancer) in European males.
Cancer notification is voluntary, although it is expected to become compulsory
soon. There is a major reliance on histopathology and cytology reports for case
detection. Other data sources include public hospital records, health insurance
records, and the reports of medical evacuations overseas for cancer care. Some
private medical practitioners also notify cases, but compliance is not high. In
addition, case details sometimes are obtained from overseas registries,
including the New South Wales registry.
The 1988-1992 data were considered for publication in Cancer Incidence in Five
Continents Volume VII, but in the end they were not included due to the heavy
reliance on pathology reports for case detection. An important difficulty is
the limited access of the registry to information from death certification. The
registry has supported a range of beneficial studies, including investigations
of respiratory and thyroid cancers.
Fiji
The Fiji population-based registry was introduced in 1965 and augmented
by a hospital-based collection in 1979. The former registry covers a
multi-ethnic population of approximately 800,000.
Data sources include pathology reports, hospital discharge records, and death
certificates. While clinicians were encouraged to notify in the early years,
compliance was not high and there is total reliance now on the other data
sources. The registry is hampered by a lack of resources to visit hospitals to
retrieve missing data.
The registry records benign tumours, and those of uncertain behaviour, in
addition to invasive disease.
Previous incidence data for invasive disease point to a comparatively high
incidence of liver cancer, especially among Fijian males, which appears to be
broadly similar to the incidence of this cancer in Polynesian males in Tahiti
and Melanesian males in New Caledonia. Meanwhile, a comparatively high
incidence of cervical cancer has been recorded.
Pacific Islands
The Pacific Islands Cancer Registry is administered by the South Pacific
Commission in New Caledonia. It relates to 20 or more Pacific Islands. Data are
collected in part through an infrastructure of registries in New Caledonia,
Vanuatu, Fiji, French Polynesia, and Guam. The data have not been updated in
the Pacific Islands Cancer registry since around 1990-1991, due to staff
changes.
Efforts are now being made to bring this central collection up to date. The use
of CANREG3 and allied staff training is being promoted throughout the region to
facilitate central data aggregation and analysis.
Cervical cancer screening and treatment recently were identified as a priority,
following a review of health issues in seven South Pacific countries. The need
for cancer registration to support remedial action has been underscored.
Other cancers associated with a raised incidence have included lung cancers in
Polynesian women, and in some countries, cancers of the stomach, liver and
thyroid.
New Zealand
There is a national registry for New Zealand that has received about
12,500 new cancer registrations per year. This excludes non-melanocytic skin
cancers. The number of registrations are likely to have increased with the
introduction, in July 1994, of the Cancer Registry Act, which requires cancer
notification from both public and private pathology laboratories. Increased
ascertain-ment, particularly for melanoma, is anticipated, due to better
reporting by the private health sector.
Data sources include pathology laboratories, hospitals and death certificates.
Data for 1994 are now being processed, with increased numbers of cases
presenting for melanoma and cancers of the prostate and female breast.
The registry is "fast tracking" the processing of breast-cancer data to support
screening initiatives, with collection being complete to around May 1997. Other
"fast tracking" has been undertaken for cervical cancer, melanoma and prostate
cancer, either for the purposes of research or to support screening.
Apart from the national registry, there is a regional registry for the
Waikato/Bay of Plenty population, which numbers around 532,000 (1991 estim.).
This registry was established in 1982, and has published some 13 annual
reports. Over 2,000 cases are registered annually. The registry acts as a local
collection agency for the national registry, and includes data on tumour stage,
grade, treatment and case survival for service monitoring and research. The
registry records in-situ cases, and neoplasms of uncertain behaviour, in
addition to invasive disease. The latest annual report in 1977 related to 1994,
but data collection was well-advanced for 1997 by the end of the year.
Australia
Compulsory registration of cancer is universal in Australia through a
network of state and territorial registries, which forwards summary data to a
National Cancer Clearing House. Principal data sources include pathology
laboratories, hospital records and death certificates. With the exception of
one of the country's eight registries, the collection of incidence data in 1977
was complete for the period to 1994, with some registries already having
completed data collection for 1996. The National Cancer Clearing House has
published incidence data for 1983-1990, and has prepared an updated report for
the period to 1994. Data for 1988-1992 from the states of New South Wales,
Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia have been included in
Cancer Incidence in Five Continents Volume VII.
There is now a concerted effort to promote data timeliness and the consistency
of data-collection standards across states and territories, with an initial
emphasis on female breast cancer.
Australian cancer registry data are being used: for ongoing disease
surveillance and research; for priority setting and targeting in health-service
planning; to respond to community concerns about cancer risks and trends; and
for the QA and monitoring of screening and treatment services.
National initiatives have been directed at monitoring the performance of breast
and cervix screening programmes, and the impact of clinical guidelines on
breast-cancer treatment. Alternative means of collecting staging and treatment
details are being tested, including customised surveys, linking administrative
and registry files, and in some locations, hospital-based (clinical)
registries. There is also national deliberation about future coding of cancer
site and morphology by cancer registries, prompted by the anticipated change of
public hospital disease coding from ICD-9 (CM) to ICD-10 (AM) from 1 July 1998.
National Privacy Principles require that individuals with cancer be informed of
cancer-registry notification. While there would be occasions where this would
not be feasible, and every effort will be made to avoid compulsion, there is a
national initiative to promote this and other practices that would increase
public awareness about cancer notification and cancer-registry practices and
applications.
Africa
Prepared Mokhtar Hamdi-Cherif
(Regional Representative for Africa)
There are at least 30 population-based cancer registries functioning in
Africa at present, although only ten had data available for the years covered
in Vol. VII of Cancer Incidence in Five Continents and data were published for
only five. The cancer registries of Sétif (Algeria), Harare (Zimbabwe), La
Réunion (France), Kyadondo County (Uganda) and Bamako (Mali) were included in
the book.
The second volume of the International Incidence of Childhood Cancer will
present data from Algeria (Sétif), Egypt (Alexandria), Malawi, Mali (Bamako),
Namibia, Nigeria (Ibadan), South Africa, Uganda (Kampala) and Zimbabwe
(Harare).
The Setif registry in Algeria has been expanded to the East, including the
wilayas of Constantine and Annaba. WHO is supporting this extension. The
registry is also participating in the IARC project on survival from cancer in
developing countries, and in a study on the prevalence of tobacco consumption
in Africa.
Other registries in Algeria are now producing results, and data for the years
1993-1995 are available for Algiers and for 1994-1996 for Oran.
The Harare Registry in Zimbabwe published the 1990-1992 results for the African
and European populations in the International Journal of Cancer.
Incidence of histologically diagnosed cancer in South Africa for 1992 was
published in 1997. There is a project to set up a Cancer Registry for the
Programme on Mycotoxins and Experimental Carcinogenesis.
First results are available for the Cancer Registries of Abidjan, Ivory Coast,
and Niamey, Niger. Cancer registration and death certification data from
Alexandria, Egypt show a substantial excess of bladder cancer rates, largely
attributed to infection by schisostosoma haematobium, and potential association
between lymphomas and hepato-splenic schisostosomiasis.
Registration continues in Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania), Yaoundé (Cameroon) and
Burundi. Algeria, Benin, Guinea, Mali, Uganda and Tanzania participated in the
International Study of the Prevalence of Human Papilloma Virus in Cervical
Cancer.
Population based registration is developing rapidly in some areas (South
Africa, West Africa) and slowly in other areas (Sub-Saharan Africa, East
Africa, North Africa excluding Algeria).
Finance is a major problem, particularly in Sub Saharan Africa. Most of the
functioning cancer registries in Africa have received financial support from
the International Agency for Research on Cancer. It is important that other
international agencies or organisations support this effort.
Geographic and socio-economic factors limit African researchers’ access to what
is going in the other areas of the world.
An African Association of Cancer Registries for the development of cancer
registration in the continent organised its first meeting in Abidjan during the
IACR Annual Meeting. It is important that organisations, agencies and African
states support this Association.
America, Central and South
Fabian Corral (Regional Representative
for South America
Data for eleven cancer registries in eight countries from Central and
South America were published in Volume VII of Cancer Incidence in Five
Continents. Registries from Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Peru,
Puerto Rico and Uruguay have contributed data to Volume II of the International
Incidence of Childhood Cancer.
Caribbean
Cancer registration activities are supported by a joint initiative with
the regional office of PAHO. Registries are being set up in Barbados, Dominica
and St Lucia.
In Trinidad, a registry has been established covering initially the city of
Port of Spain, with data collection starting in 1995. It is planned to extend
coverage to the whole island.
A full report on activities in Latin America from 1966 to 1988 will feature in
the next Newsletter.
America, North
Prepared by Vivien Chen and Dee West
(Regional Representatives for North America)
Canada
National cancer statistics have been generated in Canada since 1969. The
Health Statistics Division of Statistics Canada is responsible, and the
national Canadian Cancer Registry (CCR) has been developed in collaboration
with the directors of the eleven Provincial/Territorial Cancer Registries.
All registries are now using a common data dictionary. It includes a full range
of validity and correlation edits, code conversions, the production of error
and control reports, and record management activities. The database is patient
(not event-) -based, which will eventually allow the calculation of survival
rates. Records containing errors are returned to provincial/territorial
registries for correction and resubmission. Data are now available for 1992,
1993, and 1994. Copies of the input data dictionary can be obtained by
contacting Ingrid Friesen, Health Statistics Division, Statistics Canada.
Record linkage to ensure that there is no duplicate reporting of cancer by
detecting inter-provincial migration, name changes, and the incorrect
identification of new patients, using software developed at Statistics Canada,
started in 1996.
Death clearance, confirming the deaths of cancer patients by searching their
death registrations on the Canadian Mortality database, was started in 1972.
This involves sharing selected data items from death registrations with
provincial/territorial cancer registries, including cause of death and
demographic information. In order for this to occur, the Chief Statistician for
Canada has required that permission to release identifiable information to the
cancer registries must first be received from the twelve provincial/
territorial vital statistics registries. This process is almost complete, ten
of the twelve provinces and territories having given authorisation to release
their data. However, national death clearance of the CCR cannot occur until
permission from all jurisdictions is received.
Data Quality Committee
A Committee on Data Quality advises on quality and standardisation of data
collection, storage, analysis and reporting. The committee meets regularly by
teleconference, and annually for two days. The eight members include
representatives of the Provincial/Territorial Cancer Registries, Health Canada,
Statistics Canada, the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) and a
consultant pathologist. The 1996-97 agenda included multiple primary tumours,
bladder tumours and staging initiatives.
The Data Quality Committee also provides guidance for the production of a
newsletter for Cancer Registries in Canada called Cancer Record. This
newsletter is published twice a year and sent out to a mailing list of
approximately 800. The content of the newsletter primarily focuses on coding
and reporting, communication between Cancer Registry staff and updates on the
development of the CCR.
National Enhanced
Cancer Surveillance System
The National Cancer Enhanced Surveillance
System (NECSS) is an innovative surveillance system, which directly addresses
issues of cancer and the environment. It overcomes the shortcomings of
traditional ecological analysis by considering population mobility, confounding
factors and delayed effects.
In conjunction with the Environmental Quality Database and Geographic
Surveillance components NECSS provides lifestyle and environmental risk
assessment information which will support legislation and commitments to reduce
human health risks, particularly cancer.
In collaboration with provincial cancer registries, individual risk factor
information is being collected for 20,000 persons with recently diagnosed
cancer focusing on the 18 cancer types with potential environmental links;
identical information is collected in 5,000 healthy "control" persons. Risk
factor information includes residential history, occupational history, dietary
patterns and social, demographic and lifestyle data including smoking and
physical activity. This is the third year of the initial collection period. The
data reduction, linkage and analysis system is now being developed and tested
with case-control and environmental quality data for specific air and water
quality concerns.
Cancer Control
The National Cancer Institute of Canada defines cancer control as the
development, identification, promotion, widespread dissemination and delivery
of effective, ethical methods of cancer prevention, screening, and care for
individuals. Cancer registries aim to collaborate in cancer control and in
promulgating information on cancer. The Canadian Coalition on Cancer
Surveillance (CCOCS) comprises representatives of cancer organisations and
advocacy groups, health professionals who work in the cancer field and cancer
survivors. The aim is to obtain high quality population based information on
broad determinants of health, patient-care, management and treatment outcomes,
leading to improved cancer prevention and control in Canada.
USA
The major funding agencies of population-based cancer registries in the
US are the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Centres for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC). The NCI funds the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End
Results Program (SEER) which includes five states (Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa,
New Mexico, Utah) and six metropolitan areas (Atlanta, Georgia; Detroit,
Michigan; Los Angeles, California; Seattle, Washington; San Francisco,
California; San Jose, California). Together these registries cover 14% of the
US population. The CDC funds the National Program of Cancer Registries and has
contracts with 47 States; the District of Columbia; and the Virgin Islands and
Puerto Rico. Six new contracts were awarded this past year.
The North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR) is the
professional organisation for population-based registries in the US and Canada.
There are 63 US member organisations and 11 Canadian member organisations. This
year a new category for single membership was created. During the past year,
NAACCR has been involved in the following activities:
-
NAACCR has been awarded quality control contracts from the CDC and NCI, to
provide audits for completeness of reporting and accuracy of case abstracting.
Hospital audits have been completed in 25 states and all the SEER areas. Pilot
work is underway to develop methods for ascertaining completeness at
non-hospital sources.
-
Eight technical site visits and five regional training workshops were held.
-
The 1997 Annual Conference was held in Boston, Mass. in April. The theme was
related to the use of cancer registries in health policy. The Calum Muir
memorial award was presented to Constance Percy. The meeting was attended by
over 300 people. A two-day NAACCR short course and an Advanced Topics for
Central Registry Management course also were held at the conference.
-
The NAACCR monograph, (Cancer Incidence in North America, 1989-93) was
published. Incidence statistics and quality control statistics from 48
population-based registries (37 in the US and 11 in Canada) were presented.
Several chapters were also included presenting more detailed information for
specific cancers. The data are also available on 3.5 inch diskettes and on the
NAACCR web site.
-
NAACCR has improved its home page on the World Wide Web, which includes cancer
in North America, all the NAACCR Standard Volumes, the membership directory,
and registry related job announcement. The web page is accessible at
www.naaccr.org.
-
Two special workshops were held to discuss particular areas of interest. The
first was held to discuss the need and the process to create an aggregated data
set, combining all the data submitted to the Cancer in North America
publication. The second workshop discussed cancer reporting and research in
managed care environments.
A National Co-ordinating Council for Cancer Surveillance has been organised by
the major cancer standard setting and utilisation agencies in the US.
Participants include NAACCR, CDC, NCI, American College of Surgery, American
Cancer Society, National Cancer Registrar’s Association, and Centres for
Disease Control. The purpose is to facilitate and co-ordinate the collection
and use of surveillance data, with a primary emphasis on registry data. Two
meetings are held each year.
Asia
Prepared by Kiyohiko Mabuchi and A.
Nandakumar (Regional Representatives for Asia)
The Japanese Association of Cancer Registries, and the registries of Cixian
(China), Pusan (Korea), Hochinminh City (Vietnam), and Karachi (Pakistan) were
accepted as members of the Association during the period.
India
The network of cancer registries under the National Cancer Registry
Programme (NCRP) of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) continues to
collect information on cancer. The XV Annual Review Meeting of the NCRP took
place on 15 April 1997 at ICMR, New Delhi. The working of the registries was
reviewed. The registries have undertaken a series of quality control exercises.
A multicentric case-control study to determine the possible risk of vasectomy
as a method of family planning on the occurrence of cancer of the prostate has
also been initiated. Another case-control study on gall bladder cancer in
Delhi, which has some of the highest incidence rates in the world, has also
been initiated - both studies being funded by the ICMR and co-ordinated by the
unit in Bangalore.
Registration has commenced in a new rural area, Ambillikai, with a population
of 400,000. The first results (for 1995-1996) are now available. In Barshi, an
innovative registry serving a rural population in Maharashtra state, data have
been published and survival in the area is being analysed.
In addition to analysing survival, the Bombay Cancer Registry (the first in the
Indian sub-continent, established in 1963), is collaborating in the follow-up
of a national cohort study of tobacco-related cancer.
A population-based registry has been established in the Cancer Institute of
Calcutta, serving the population of the greater Calcutta area. The principal
investigator took part in a course on cancer registration and applications in
epidemiology organised at the International Agency for Research on Cancer
(IARC) in 1997.
In Madras, methods of follow-up and survival analysis have been studied and
implemented over the period. The Trivandrum registry continues to provide
valuable information related to the various research projects in the Kerala
population, particularly to the oral cancer screening trial.
The Bangalore registry has prepared population-based survival studies on
breast, cervix, lymphomas and leukaemias.
Japan
There are currently 35 active population-based cancer registries in
various parts of Japan. These registries are in different stages of development
and the quality of data from them varies. Efforts are being made to bring these
registries together and to develop a nationwide network. At the forefront of
such efforts is the Japanese Association of Cancer Registries (JACR) chaired by
Isaburo Fujimoto. As part of the Association’s main activities, the fifth
annual meeting was held this year in Chiba in September, with the theme of
Cancer Registries and Computers. Applications of new hard and software
technologies were discussed. The Association also compiles official reports
from various registries as well as publications and technical reports from
research projects using cancer registry data. JACR Monograph No. 2, Cancer
Registries, Japan and the World. (Ikeda, T. et al., eds), containing reports
presented at the 1996 JACR annual meeting in Nagasaki, has also been published.
The first issue of the JACR Newsletter was published in 1997. The newsletter is
circulated among Association members and other interested people.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare sponsored Research Group for
Population-based Cancer Registries in Japan, continuing under the leadership of
Akira Oshima, is making a concerted effort to advance research using selected
population-based registries in Japan. Currently, the focus of their effort is
to provide cancer survival data representative of Japan. Improved access to
cancer incidence data in Japan for a wider range of researchers is another
goal. Procedures for requesting the estimated cancer incidence data for Japan
for 1975 onwards are now being developed.
Oman
The cancer registrar attended the IARC summer course on cancer
registration and applications in epidemiology in 1997. The registry results for
1993-1996 have been published.
Pakistan
A population-based registry covering the population of the southern part
of Karachi has been established, with some technical support. First results
(1995-96) were published in 1997.
Philippines
The two registries in greater Manila play an active role in the
follow-up of a large breast cancer screening project, and in the Rizal
population, extra staff ensure careful staging and follow-up of all breast
cancer cases. The data of the Rizal registry have been included in the IARC
study of survival in developing countries.
Saudi Arabia
The registry supervisor took part in the 1996 IARC Summer Course. The
1994 data have been published as a report.
Thailand
Results from cancer registration in Lampang province (N. Thailand) were
published. Data from Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen were analysed in the study on
survival in developing countries. Staff from Khon Kaen and Chiang Mai received
training at IARC in Lyon in 1996 and 1997 respectively. Khon Kaen registry
provides follow-up for the cohort established in the province.
Vietnam
Registry staff from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City participated in the IARC
summer courses in 1996 and 1997 respectively. Population coverage for Ho Chi
Minh City and province is now considered to be complete, and results for
1995-1996 were analysed and submitted for publication.
Europe
Prepared by Isabel Izarzugaza and Vera
Pompe-Kirn (Regional Representatives for Europe)
Since the 1996 Edinburgh meeting, several European and Middle-Eastern
population-based cancer registries have become members of the Association: St.
Gallen-Appenzell (Switzerland), Central Serbia (Serbia), Georgia (Republic of
Georgia), Lower Saxony (Germany), San Marino (San Marino Republic), Campania
Region (Naples, Italy) and Aden (Yemen).
A number of cancer registry associations have been set up in Europe, and
information about some of them is given below:
United Kingdom Association
The UK Association of Cancer Registries (UKACR) has continued with the
voluntary co-ordination of its member registries. It has formed a new working
group to consider coding and classification in the light of decisions by the
European Network of Cancer Registries and in conjunction with the British Royal
College of Pathologists and the National Health Service Coding and
Classification Centre.
Cancer Registries in the United Kingdom have assimilated the changes resulting
from the abolition of regional health authorities. The Yorkshire and Northern
Registries have been combined as the Northern and Yorkshire Registry and
Information Service. The individual Scottish Registries have merged to become
part of the National Scottish Registry.
The National Health Service Executive has now formed a new National Advisory
Committee on Cancer Registration
The UKACR was the host organisation for a seminar run by the European Network
of Cancer Registries held on the Isle of Wight last February.
Italian Association
The Italian Cancer Registries Association (Associazione Italiana
Registri Tumori - AIRT) was established last year and was joined by 13
population Cancer Registries and three specialised ones (childhood, colon-
rectum and bone registries). The aims of the association are: comparability of
registration techniques, joint publication of incidence, prevalence and
survival data, production of national cancer estimates and projection of cancer
rates. The Association also plans to develop and/or participate in multicentric
epidemiological cancer studies and to organise courses on registration
techniques.
Specialized working groups carry out AIRT activities. One of these is in charge
of the preparation of the 2nd Edition of the publication Cancer in Italy, with
incidence data on cancer from all Italian Registries during the period
1988-1992. The same group will produce a summarised version, addressed mostly
to clinicians and oncologists, with preliminary results of the joint analysis
on incidence and survival in Italy.
Another group has recently produced incidence estimates and mortality
statistics for the whole country for the year 1990 (Balzi D., et al. Estimates
of Cancer Incidence and Mortality in Italian Regions, 1990. Centro di
Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano, AIRT, Jan. 1997).
Groups are also working on methodology for further joint analysis of prevalence
and survival, the production of a manual for cancer registration, and the use
of record linkage using pathology, hospital discharge and mortality, as an
alternative method for case identification.
The AIRT is coordinating the participation of several Italian Cancer Registries
in multicentric studies such as: EuroDecaTam project (case-control study on
second cancer risk in women previously affected by breast cancer), (the
Multiple Cancers Project (Italian Research Council, the EUROCARE II Project
(European Community) and the ltacare Project, co-ordinated by the Italian
National Health Institute and the Varese Cancer Registry.
Nordic Association
The annual meeting of the Nordic Association of Cancer Registries was
held in Bergen (Norway) on 1 September 1997.
Publications have been prepared on: a) estimates of cancer incidence and
mortality and a comparison of relative survival among the Nordic countries
until the year 2012, b) cost estimates of cancer screening adjusted for quality
of life (L. Hristova and M. Hakama, Acta Oncologica supplement), c) differences
in regional mortality risk pointing at the heterogeneity within the countries
(P. Dickman and T. Hakulinen), d) survival by stage in the Nordic countries
(Engeland et al.). A circumbaltic atlas and a comprehensive monograph on
occupational cancer are near completion. Cancer incidence data from all the
Nordic countries have been published, including data for 1994.
The 1997 Nordic Summer School on Cancer Epidemiology for pre-graduate students
took place in Copenhagen. 25 students from all the Nordic countries attended
the 2 week course, followed by practical work with cancer registry data in
their respective countries.
The Institute of Cancer Epidemiology (former Danish Cancer Registry) has
carried out a comprehensive survey in the Nordic Cancer Registries in order to
pool the data and constitute a database from 1960.
Non-EC States and The Near
East
A symposium on the Epidemiology of Cancer in the Mediterranean was held
in Crete in September 1996, on the occasion of the Greek oncologists’ congress,
to promote activities of the Cancer Registry in Crete. The Director, Dr
Vlachonikolis, also prepared an overview of cancer registries in the Balkans
and Middle East for the ESO Conference on Cancer Control in the Balkans and
Middle East, held in Athens in November 1997.
In November 1996, Prof. Zatonski, Prof. Plesko and Dr. Tyczinsky invited 25
registries to establish an association of cancer registries in Central Europe.
A draft Constitution has been prepared.
At the end of 1996 two registries, Estonia and Crakow City, published
comprehensive reports on incidence, mortality, prevalence and survival for the
periods 1968-1992 and 1965-1994 respectively.
Annual reports on cancer incidence were published in Bulgaria for 1992, the
Czech Republic for 1993, Croatia for 1991, Israel for 1994, Latvia for
1992-1993, Malta for 1994, Norway for 1994, Poland for 1994 (all registries
together and specially Warsaw), Slovakia for 1993, and Slovenia for 1994. The
quality of annual reports is improving everywhere. However the report from
Norway is the most attractive and could serve us as a golden standard.
Registries in St. Petersburg (Russia), Voivodina (Yugoslavia) and Lithuania
have sent data to their ministries of health. A comprehensive report on cancer
incidence for the period 1953-1992 was published in the county
Sczabolzs-Szatmar-Berg in Hungary. However, further cancer registration in
Hungary is not feasible due to new legislation.
Two registries from Switzerland, and five from Central Europe (Estonia, Krakow
and Warsaw from Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) have been included in the
EUROCARE 2 study group, and have all agreed to further collaboration in the
EUROCARE 3 as well as in the EUROPREVAL study.
The ECLIS study continues, and includes registries from six regions in Belarus,
Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway,
Rumania, four regions in Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and six registries from
Switzerland.
Cancer registration activities in the NIS (Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia) are
being supported through the European Commission INCO-COPERNICUS Programme. A
new project, called Improvement and Use of Epidemiological Tools in the NIS,
with a view to studying the consequences of Chernobyl, started in January 1997.
Different activities and studies are planned to assess the quality and
completeness of all the existing specialised (haematological-, thyroid-, and
childhood cancer) and population-based cancer registries in NIS as well as the
comparability of cancer incidence statistics in NIS with the rest of Europe.
Activities and studies are planned also to improve the existing standards in
the NIS cancer registries, to extend computerised cancer registration, and to
develop a database of epidemiological indicators. The Danish Cancer Registry
was selected to represent a typical cancer registry with international
standards. The project is planned for three years with the final aim to assess
the epidemiological situation in NIS for research purposes. The primary focus
is on assessing the health effects on the general and on special population
groups following the Chernobyl accident.
So, in the NIS cancer registration is progressing. In Ukraine, a registration
programme and a programme for linking data on individuals have been initiated.
In Belarus, a complete retrospective cancer registry, based on hospital records
back to 1960 for the Gomel Oblast, has been created. In Russia, four new
regions have started cancer registration, and some new activities have been
launched in Kazachstan in the Altai Techa region. A course on cancer
registration and epidemiology in Russian was held in November 1997 in Estonia
(Tallinn).
Eight of the 30 participants at the ENCR Cancer Registration Course on Isle of
White (February 1997) came from the non-EC states (Cyprus, Belarussia, Estonia,
Hungary, Lithuania, Rumania and Slovenia).
The Cancer Patient Survival course in February 1997 in Tampere was attended by
seven participants from these states (2 Czech Republic, 1 Estonia, 1 Lithuania,
1 Russia, 1 Slovenia, and 1 Jordan).
Other activities
Consortium) to establish cancer registration in selected countries in
the area. It is hoped to collect data from Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and
the Palestinian National Authority. Turkey may join in the future.
An International Scientific Advisory Board was created at the beginning of this
year and Dr John Young, Dr Hans Storm and Dr M. Isabel Izarzugaza were
appointed as members. The first meeting took place last July in Cyprus.
In Turkey, the Izmir and Adana registries are working and trainees from both
registries participated in the 1996 Summer Course on Cancer Registration and
Applications in Epidemiology at IARC in Lyon.
Network of German
population-based cancer registries
Joachim Schüz
In 1995 a federal law for cancer registration came into force which
makes it mandatory for all sixteen German states (Länder) to develop regional
population-based cancer registries until 1999. This law proposes a
comprehensive model for cancer registration with special emphasis on data
confidentiality. To ensure the continuation of the research activities of the
established registries, the federal law can be modified by state-specific
regulations. But unfortunately, governments of the states which created new
registries made use of their right to define modifications of the federal
registration model, which on a nationwide level resulted in a heterogeneous
infrastructure of cancer registration. Soon, the need for harmonisation became
obvious.
The Network of German Population-based Cancer Registries was founded in January
1996. One member of the scientific staff represents each German
population-based cancer registry and the Dachdokumentation Krebs where the data
are aggregated on a national level. The network is associated with the German
federal government’s overall programme for combating cancer. The objectives of
the network are to define standards for the comparability of the data collected
to overcome the differences in the state-specific legal frameworks of the
registries, to ensure a regular exchange of information and mutual support, and
to act as the reference of contact at a national and international level.
In 1998, reliable data on cancer incidence are still available for less than
20% of all Germans. With the intention of demonstrating the role of
population-based cancer registries and to present available facts and figures
of cancer in Germany, the Network of German Population-based Cancer Registries
published a leaflet, Krebs in Deutschland, [Trends in cancer incidence and
survival in Germany]. Information on cancer incidence, mortality and survival
was derived from the population-based cancer registries of the Saarland, the
former German Democratic Republic (until 1989), Hamburg, the region of Münster
and from the German Children’s Cancer Registry. It is graphically presented for
the 16 most important types of cancer and shows time trends for the last two
decades. The complete leaflet and the addresses of all German population-based
cancer registries are also available on the worldwide web at:
http://www.rki.de/CHRON/KREBS/KREBS.HTM
The address of the Network of German Population-based Cancer Registries is: Dr.
Joachim Schüz, Institut für Medizinische Statistik und Dokumentation der
Universität Mainz, D-55101 Mainz (e-mail: schuez@imsd.uni-mainz.de)
Obituaries
Knut Magnus 1924-1997
With the death of Knut Magnus on 3 July 1997 an epoch came to an end.
His research over four decades ensured that the treasure trove of the Norwegian
Cancer Registry’s database was utilised to the full - in articles on cancer in
migrants, lung cancer, cancer risk in the nickel industry, radon and cancer,
cervical cancer and screening, and first and last the epidemiology of malignant
melanoma which gave him an international reputation. He was the driving force
behind the Registry’s numerous publications on variation in cancer incidence
and survival, and projections for the municipalities, counties and regions of
Norway – many of them well before the development of modern technology and
statistical programs.
When I came to the Cancer Registry in 1981, Knut Magnus was made leader of the
Institute, full of professional engagement, social engagement and energy. He
bicycled to work, he wandered in the mountains, and he had a very special
unfailing vigour. Then came the accident, which led to his spending the rest of
his life in a wheelchair. Having broken all records in rehabilitation, Knut
Magnus came back to research with a new driving license, and we will remember
him, accompanied by his wife Ingerid, undaunted by the wheelchair and regularly
taking part in scientific meetings.
Research, nature and music were all important to Knut. He was devoted to his
family, Ingerid, Trine, Birgitte and Arne. Knut Magnus was an involved and
passionate human being, active in political issues and verbal about atomic
energy or armed defence, involved in bringing Vietnamese paraplegic child
refugees to Norway. He had immense joy in significant findings from his
painstaking analyses, through hand-drawn many-coloured graphs in the eighties
to the PC software of the nineties. The courage he showed throughout his life
carried through to his death.
Frøydis
Langmark
Elizabeth Quamina 1929 - 1997
Dr Elizabeth Quamina died of cancer at her home in Trinidad on 17 May
1997.
She was born Elizabeth Smith in Wales in 1929. She took her first degree in
medicine at the University of Dublin and soon after married Dr. David Quamina,
a Tobagonian. They settled in Trinidad and Tobago where she began her lifetime
of dedicated and distinguished work in the field of Public Health and Community
medicine.
In 1989 she retired from the post of Chief Medical Officer which she had held
since 1975. By this time she had earned several more degrees and diplomas and
had acted as consultant and advisor in Public Health, Planning and Development
and had served on many committees and task forces both nationally and
internationally. All of this continued after her retirement. She received many
awards, of which The Chaconia Gold, for service in the field of medicine in
1980, a national award, and the Pan American Health Organization/World Health
Organization Gold for Health for All in 1988, are merely two examples.
Although she was deeply involved in the field of medicine she found time to
perform voluntary work in the community and was involved as committee member in
several voluntary organizations of which the Music Foundation, the governing
body of the National Youth Orchestra of which she was a founding member, and
the Cancer Society are only two examples. As a member of the Cancer Society she
attempted to establish a National Cancer Registry many times. She eventually
succeeded in September 1994 with support from the Ministry of Health, PAHO\WHO,
the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the Port of Spain City
Corporation and until the time of her death was steadfastly pursing the
objectives of the Registry.
Shortly before she died she said to a friend "I have lived with cancer for over
ten years now and during that time I have been able to do so much. It has
really been wonderful".
Elizabeth Quamina was a devoted wife and mother who thoroughly enjoyed her
profession, her many friends and her work in the Cancer Society. She is greatly
missed.
Allison Byam
Veronica Roach
Collaborative projects
The third revision of the
International Classification of Diseases for Oncology
Many of you took a lot of time and trouble to fill in the questionnaire sent to
IACR members about the proposed revision of the leukaemias and lymphomas in
ICD-O. Your help will be acknowledged individually, and your replies were very
useful when the Working Group for the revision met for the first time at IARC
in Lyon at the beginning of July.
The working group included pathologists, haematologists and nosologists from
the US National Cancer Institute, UK, Italy,
Singapore, and Germany as well as expertise from IARC and the ICD Unit of WHO.
It rapidly became clear that this is not just a revision of the sections
concerning lymphomas and leukaemias, but a revision of the entire ICD-O. It is
therefore proposed to produce the third edition of ICD-O in three years time.
However the topography will not be changed and will remain consistent with
ICD-10. Only the morphology terms and codes will be revised, and for all terms
outside the lymphomas and leukaemias changes will not be radical, the majority
consisting of the addition of synonyms to terms already in use. The working
group agreed on a set of general principles to underlie revision of the ICD-O,
and these are reproduced below:
General Principles for ICD-O
Revision
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The International Classification of Diseases for Oncology (ICD-O) is a
compendium of topographic and morphological terms used internationally to
describe cancer, with codes assigned to the terms. It also fulfils an
educational role, giving guidance to users.
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Revisions of the ICD-O allow for new terms but take the need for stability over
time into account.
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The ICD-O does not attempt to list every matrix combination, e.g. a request for
the term ‘benign tumorlet’ coded to 8040/0 is catered for by 8040/1. The rules,
which explain that any behaviour code can be used with any term in the ICD-O,
are clearly either not read or not understood by many users.
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New entities will be in general only those from the WHO Blue Books, unless they
have been fully described in two papers in peer-reviewed journals, and
citations are required (p. xxiv, para. 1, Introduction to ICD-O-2). New terms
which replace old entities and become synonyms or preferred terms require a
full description in the two articles.
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The ICD-O is a classification for topography, morphology and behaviour. Sex,
age and aetiology should not be used as axes.
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Obsolete terms should be retained because:
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In an international context, they may not be obsolete for everyone;
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ICD-O has to be suitable for coding historic data.
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NOS: Suggestions that this is an undesirable diagnosis are not helpful. Advice
of the kind can be given to pathologists/clinicians, but not to coders as the
term relates to the majority of diagnoses to be coded.
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Multiple primaries: The IARC/IACR international rules for reporting of
incidence should be described in the Instructions for Use. The point that these
are only for the purpose of incidence reporting must be made.
Timetable
It is planned to produce a field trial edition for testing in registries
in early 1999. The proposed new ICD-O will be given to the WHO ICD Unit in
April 1999, for presentation to the WHO ICD Heads of Centres in October 1999.
The new ICD-O can only come into effect two years after this, but the lymphomas
and leukaemias will be sent to all members next year.
Software available FREE to
IACR members
CanReg3
A.P. Cooke, D.M. Parkin, J. Ferlay and P. Pisani
CANREG is a configurable computer program designed for cancer registration in
population-based cancer registries. The new version - CanReg3 - has been
completely rewritten to be more powerful and robust. Analytical tools are
report generation, direct interface to EpiInfo6 Analysis, and tables of
incidence. New features include a search for duplicate records/multiple
primaries using probability matching, full consistency checking for
impossible/rare cases, immediate language swapping. It has its own graphical
user interface, allowing it to run on all modern PCs. CANREG is provided as a
service by the Descriptive Epidemiology Unit of IARC to members of the
International Association of Cancer Registries.
WCONVERT
J. Ferlay and M.T. Valdivieso
WCONVERT is a Windows-based program which allows registry personnel to convert
data from ICD-O-2 to standard histological subtypes for the principal sites of
cancer. To help in recoding old data sets to ICD-O-2, WCONVERT provides the
following programs:
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ICD-9 topography (1975) and ICD-O-1 morphology (1976) to ICD-O-1 (1976)
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ICD-O Field Trial Edition (1988) to ICD-O-2 (1990)
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ICD-O-1 (1976) to ICD-O-2 (1990)
Then, starting from ICD-O-2:
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ICD-O-2 (1990) to ICD-9 (1975)
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ICD-O-2 (1990) to ICD-10 (1993)
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ICD-O-2 (1990) to the histological groups
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ICD-O-2 (1990) to the International Classification of Childhood Cancer (1996)
In addition to these conversion tools, WCONVERT includes the IARC-CHECK routine
for checking ICD-O-2 topography and histology combinations.
IACR Publications
Members are reminded that any publications of the International Agency for
Research on Cancer which have been produced in collaboration with the
Association (they have the IACR symbol and name on the cover) can be purchased
with a 30% discount. If you wish to order publications contact press@iarc.fr
(or fax 33 4 72 73 83 02), and specify that you are an IACR member and want the
IACR discount.
Cancer Incidence in Five
Continents, Vol. VII
D.M. Parkin, S.L. Whelan, J. Ferlay, L. Raymond and J. Young (eds.) IARC
Scientific Publication No. 143, 1997
This seventh volume in the Cancer Incidence in Five Continents series presents
data on the incidence of cancer worldwide from 147 cancer registries in 50
countries for the years 1988-1992. The 182 populations described include
several new areas from Africa and from the developing countries in Asia.
For each population, for all cancers and for each sex, age-specific,
standardised and cumulative incidence rates are given. For the first time, the
data have been analysed by histological subtype, using code groupings designed
to present data on incidence in a meaningful way. Commentary and many markers
of quality are provided to aid interpretation.
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International Incidence of
Childhood Cancer, Vol. II
D.M. Parkin, E. Kramárová, G.J. Draper, E. Masuyer, J. Michaelis, J. Neglia, S.
Qureshi, and C.A. Stiller (eds.) IARC Scientific Publication No. 144, Lyon, in
press
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In this update of the first volume on childhood cancer, tumours are classified
according to the revised classification system (Classification of Childhood
Cancer 1996, IARC Technical Report No. 29). The publication includes data for
the 1980s from some 150 cancer registries, and these data have been subjected
to rigorous validation checks to ensure comparability.
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CI5VII: Electronic Database of
Incidence of Cancer in Five Continents
J. Ferlay, R.J. Black, S.L. Whelan and D.M. Parkin. IARC CancerBase No. 2, Lyon,
1997
This electronic publication, in Microsoft Windows format, contains the data
from Cancer Incidence in Five Continents, Vol. VII. The CI5 database contains
details of 260 anatomical subsites or histological subtypes. Sites, subtypes
and cancer registries can be grouped together as desired. Various summary rates
(crude, age-standardised and cumulative) can be calculated and sorted to
produce reports. The software includes facilities for performing statistical
comparisons between registries, together with standard graphical
representations.
Introductory texts describe the methods of data collection and the
interpretation of the incidence patterns in individual populations. Combined
incidence tables for the countries covered by several regional registries
provide powerful estimates of national incidence rates. Summary tables enable
easy comparisons to be made between countries. Incidence rates are also
provided for infants (aged less than one year) for tumours of particular
interest, and laterality of retinoblastoma and Wilms’ tumour is related to age
at diagnosis, etc. The data tabulated in both volumes of the publication are
also provided on diskette.
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International Classification
of Childhood Cancer 1996
E. Kramárová, C.A. Stiller, J. Ferlay, D.M. Parkin, G.J. Draper,J. Michaelis, J.
Neglia and S. Qureshi (eds.) IARC Technical Report No. 29, Lyon, 1996
The classification of childhood cancer is based on tumour morphology rather
than, as for adults, the site of the tumour. This volume is an update of the
previous classification of childhood cancer in the light of the second edition
of the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology and the 10th
revision of the International Classification of Diseases. In this new
classification of childhood cancer, the opportunity has been taken to introduce
essential modifications, while keeping the new scheme as close to the original
as possible. The new classification appears under the auspices of the
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the International
Association of Cancer Registries (IACR) and the International Society of
Paediatric Oncology (SIOP).
Included with the publication is a diskette containing the program child check,
software designed for the conversion of ICD-O-coded data to this new ICCC
classification.
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Histological Groups for
Comparative Studies
D.M. Parkin, K. Shanmugaratnam, L. Sobin, J. Ferlay and S. Whelan
This publication provides a description of the recognised histological subtypes
of the principal cancers, together with the appropriate ICD-O morphology codes.
The distribution of these codes is exhaustive (which is not the case for the
International Histological Classification of Tumours, with which it is
compatible). Similarities and differences with other proposed groupings are
discussed.
The classification is that used in Cancer Incidence in Five Continents, Vol.
VII and in IARC CancerBase No. 2. An accompanying software allows recoding of
data to the proposed histological groups, to permit comparative studies.
Although the groupings may be used in any comparative study involving case
series coded by histological type, they will be most useful for investigations
of incidence and survival.
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Cancer Registration:
Principles and Methods
O.M. Jensen, D.M. Parkin, R. MacLennan, C.S. Muir and R.G. Skeet (eds) IARC
Scientific Publication No. 95, Lyon, 1991
Data obtained by population-based cancer registries have a pivotal role
in cancer control. Now also available in French and Spanish, this volume, which
contains 15 authored chapters and four useful appendices, remains a standard
reference for those planning to establish new cancer registries and those keen
to adopt recognised methodologies. Information is given on the techniques
required to collect, store, analyse and interpret data.
Available in French as Enregistrement des Cancers: Principes et Methodes
(1996); Also in Spanish as Registros de Cáncer: Principios y Métodos (1995), in
Portuguese as Registro de Câncer: Princípios e Métodos (1995), and in Japanese
(1996) as 
Comparability and Quality
Control in Cancer Registration
D.M. Parkin, V.W. Chen, J. Ferlay, J. Galceran, H.H. Storm and S.L. Whelan. IARC
Technical Report No. 19, Lyon, 1994
A sister volume to Cancer Registration: Principles and Methods, this
practical manual helps registries to assure quality control. Comparability,
completeness and validity are discussed, with the aim of enabling registry
staff to assess the quality of their data and compare it with others. The
software programme, check, which is supplied on diskette, is a useful tool for
checking the validity and consistency of computerised registry data. The
revised edition, now available, includes full-colour figures, enhancing the
value of this popular report.
Available in Spanish as Comparabilidad y Control de Calidad en los Registros de
Cancer (1995), and in French as Comparabilité et Contrôle de Qualité dans
l’Enregistrement des Cancers (1996).
Manual for Cancer Registry
Personnel
D. Esteban, S. Whelan, A. Laudico and D.M. Parkin (eds) IARC Technical Report
No. 10, 1995
This manual provides a complete training guide and day-to-day reference
for personnel working in population-based cancer registries. Firmly rooted in
practical experience, the manual aims to provide all the information needed to
help personnel exercise good judgement as well as follow standard procedures of
abstracting and coding - explanations of specific tasks are complemented by
numerous reference tables and charts, definitions, exercises, questions and
answers, model forms, and examples of typical reports and records.
Suitable for use by anyone starting to work in a cancer registry, especially
those without medical training
Designed to meet the needs of cancer registries in developing countries
Housed in a neat and durable loose-leaf binder, facilitating the maintenance of
an up-to-date guide
Nine chapters cover the following:
Introductory material covering cancer, cancer registries and medical
terminology
Step-by-step guides to the location, collection, extraction and abstraction of
data
An explanation of coding, following the rules developed for ICD-10 and ICD-O
How to ensure quality control, de-duplication and confidentiality
The effective presentation of data, both as tables and graphs
A French edition (Manuel pour le Personnel des Registres du Cancer) will be
available at the end of 1998.
REVIEWS OF PUBLICATIONS
RELEVANT TO REGISTRIES
Survey of Cancer Registries in
the European Union
H. Storm, I. Clemmensen and R. Black. IARC Technical Report No. 28, Lyon, 1998
This survey of registry practice in the European Union aims to facilitate
collaborative studies that use data from cancer registries and to allow
meaningful international comparisons to be made. Sixty-two population-based
cancer registries were contacted to obtain a detailed assessment of the current
scope and comparability of cancer registry data. The survey highlights the need
for registries to adhere to common definitions and standards so as to increase
the potential for research. Changes to working practices that would improve the
comparability of cancer statistics from different registries are detailed.
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Cancer Survival in Developing
Countries
R. Sankaranarayanan, R.J. Black and D.M. Parkin (eds.) IARC Scientific
Publication No. 145, Lyon, in press
For the first time, comprehensive cancer survival data are published
from developing countries - 10 populations in total from Costa Rica, Cuba,
China, India, The Philippines and Thailand are included in this volume. These
data allow valid comparisons to be made with data from Europe and North
America.
An interesting finding is that for cancers associated with poor prognosis, the
differences in survival between developed and developing countries were
negligible. However, there are larger absolute differences for cancers of the
large bowel, breast, cervix, ovary and testis, and for lymphoreticular
malignancies. The publication provides a framework for investigating the
problems in data gathering and patient follow-up, as well as methods for
estimating cancer survival, in developing countries.
FINANCE
IACR Statement of Accounts 1997
Balance at l.l.97
Donations and sales
Membership fees
Subscriptions to Cancer Causes and Control
Contributions to Calum Muir Memorial Fund
TOTAL CREDIT
|
DEBIT US$
|
CREDIT US$
23144.93
1294.47
19076.71
11520
7295.33
62331.44
|
|
|
|
Support at IACR meeting, Abidjan (note:
further funds debited in 1998)
Reimbursement of over-payment by member
Reimbursement to IARC Press for book payments made to IACR
Deposit for meeting of Executive in Abidjan
Stationery
Cancer Causes and Control
Printing of 2nd announcement for Abidjan meeting
Cheque book
Bank charges
Investment of funds (Calum Muir Memorial Fund)
TOTAL DEBIT
|
13542.07
30
39.6
492.56
436.24
20817
1393.16
16.56
336.6
5858.57
42962.36
|
|
|
|
|
Balance at 31 December 1997
Owed to Calum Muir Memorial Fund account
(1996 $9321.11 + 1997 $ 7155.95 less investment $ 5858.57)
IACR balance at 31 December 1997
Calum Muir Memorial Fund at 31 December 1997
|
10757.87
|
19369.08
8611.21
22396.77
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