Establishment of clinical cancer registries to improve cancer care

Clinical cancer registries are to be introduced throughout Germany by 2017
The establishment of clinical cancer registries will significantly improve cancer care in Germany, according to the latest communication from the Federal Ministry of Health. On the basis of the Cancer Awareness and Registering Act (KFRG), the establishment of corresponding registers will take place throughout Germany by 2017. At a symposium in Mainz, the Federal Minister of Health Hermann Gröhe, the Rhineland-Palatinate Minister of Health Sabine Bätzing-Lichtenthäler and the co-initiators of the National Cancer Plan together with doctors, patient representatives and others involved in oncological care informed about the current state of implementation.

The clinical cancer registry should provide reliable information about the quality of treatment to sufferers, service providers, payers, science and politics, reports Bätzing-Lichtenthäler. This is a prerequisite for further improving the care of cancer patients in Germany. The fight against cancer remains a health policy challenge of the first order, added the Federal Minister of Health. Clinical cancer registries are a key element in improving cancer care. "The comprehensive evaluation of all treatment data makes successful treatment methods more visible", says Gröhe. This directly benefits cancer patients. At present, the establishment of clinical cancer registries in all federal states is being pushed ahead under pressure.

The introduction of clinical cancer registries will significantly improve cancer care. (Image: Mediteraneo / fotolia.com)

Direct benefit for cancer therapy
In view of the different framework conditions for the establishment of clinical cancer registries in the individual federal states, the creation of nationwide comparable regulations, according to the Federal Minister of Health is a major challenge. However, for example, the necessary national laws for data collection are already enacted in four countries and in seven other countries in the legislative process. In the press release of the Federal Ministry of Health, the Chairman of the Association of German Tumor Centers, Professor Hofstädter, the Direct Benefit of Clinical Cancer Registration for Cancer Therapy. According to Hofstädter, "clinical cancer registries and oncologists working in their catchment area form a regional network that organizes a collegial process of learning from one another based on the data from the registers." This advantage was demonstrated in practice at the Mainz event using examples from three regions.

Continuous improvement of cancer care
As early as 1982, a nationwide development of clinical cancer registries was founded by the founder of the German Cancer Aid. Mildred Scheel has been demanded to ensure patient care at a high level, reports Gerd Nettekoven, Chairman of the Board of the German Cancer Aid. The current structure of the clinical cancer registry is funded by the German Cancer Aid with 7.2 million euros. "Clinical cancer registration will be a great benefit for people with cancer," says Nettekoven. The clinical cancer registries act as independent institutions that record and evaluate all important data in the course of a cancer disease and report the evaluation results to treating physicians and institutions. The registries could in the future take over the collection and evaluation of treatments, thereby providing data on the success of the treatment and the quality of life of the patients treated. This could contribute to a "continuous improvement of structures and processes," said the President of the German Cancer Society Professor Dr. med. Wolff Schmiegel. (Fp)