National Cancer Registry

Cancer registration refers to the ongoing systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of cancer data essential to the planning, implementation and evaluation of clinical and public health services, closely integrated with dissemination of these data to those who need to know. The final link in the chain is the application of these data to the treatment, prevention and control of cancer. A registration system includes a functional capacity for data collection, analysis and dissemination linked to clinical and public health programs.

Malaysia has several regional cancer registries such as those in Penang, Sabah and Sarawak. The National Cancer Registry (NCR) was recently established to integrate the various regional registries and other data sources to achieve nation-wide cancer registration. All concerned agree that there is an urgent need to do this.

The NCR is sponsored by the Ministry of Health and supported by several of its organizations:

• Division of Disease Control, MOH

• Medical Development Division, MOH

• The MOH Oncology and Pathology services

• The Cancer Research Centre, IMR

• The Clinical Research Centre (CRC) of Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
  The CRC has established a cancer Registry Unit to provide the functional capacity for cancer registration. It maintains the registry's national databases.

An Advisory Committee has been established to oversee the operations of the NCR. The MOH, Universities, professional bodies and private healthcare providers are represented on this committee to ensure that the NCR stay focused on its objectives, and to assure its continuing relevance and justification.

Purpose of the NCR

The objectives of the NCR are to:

1. Determine the disease burden attributable to cancer by quantifying the magnitude of cancer morbidity and mortality, and its geographic and temporal trends in Malaysia.

2. Identify subgroups in the population at high risk of cancer to whom cancer prevention effort should be targeted.

3. Identify potential risk factors involved in cancer.

4. Evaluate cancer treatment, control and prevention programme.

5. Stimulate and facilitate epidemiological research on cancer.

Sources of cancer data in Malaysia

The NCR receives data on cancer from 3 main sources:

1. The Ministry of Health hospital discharge information system

2. The National Vital Registration system (Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara)

3. And most important of all, the individual doctors who provide cancer diagnostic services or who care for cancer patients, and voluntarily report data to the NCR.
    

Wouldn’t you want to report to the NCR?

Click here for listing of NCR participants

Click here to register online

For the NCR to succeed, ideally all doctors who have anything to do with cancer ought to report to the NCR. Unlike communicable disease, cancer however is not a reportable disease. We urge you to do your bit for your community, and help NCR obtain the information so crucial to cancer prevention and control.

What are the benefits of participating in NCR?

Apart from doing your bit for your community, here are some other benefits to being a reporter:

• Invitation to all functions organized by the NCR.

• Acknowledgement in all publications of the NCR.

• Personal copy of all NCR publications free of charge

• Free listing in the “Directory of Oncology and Pathology services in Malaysia”, an annual publication by NCR.

• Free listing in the NCR’s web site.

• Free software from NCR. The software doesn’t just automate reporting, it has many other user-friendly features to help you manage your patients and your facility.

• Tap into a network of like-minded people from diverse professional disciplines and backgrounds.

What about confidentiality?

Current legislation allows doctors to release their patients’ data to persons demonstrating a need, which is essential to public health and safety. The NCR meets this requirement. The NCR have also developed strict policies and procedures to maintain confidentiality in disclosure of data.