[The role of National Cancer Registry in the assessment of Hungarian cancer epidemiology].

Abstract

The National Cancer Registry measures the incidence of malignant cancers in Hungary, thus it contributes to the planning and development of the oncology network and quality management of care, and supports prevention programs and scientific research. Although the tradition of registration in Hungary dates back to the early 20th century, the systematic collection of population-based oncology data, aligned with international guidelines and following all care events from the detection of the disease throughout the entire care process, was launched in 1999. Currently, approximately 160 healthcare institutions report to the Cancer Registry quarterly. Data is queried from the hospital’s own information technology (IT) system by its designated staff, which is then compiled into a report file and uploaded to the website https://nrr.hu. In addition, the database is supplemented with financial and mortality data from the National Health Insurance Fund and the Central Statistical Office. The process of data cleaning is carried out in collaboration between the staff from the hospitals and the Registry. The annual report of the Cancer Registry includes the number of newly discovered cancer cases, categorized by gender, age group, and county according to the International Classification of Diseases. The report is submitted to two departments within the State Secretariat for Health, the National Center for Public Health and Pharmacy and the Central Statistical Office. The data is accessible to the public through the interactive interface https://stat.nrr.hu, as well as in the form of scientific publications and professional presentations. The efficiency of domestic registration is similar to that of the neighboring countries; however, the completion of histological and staging data needs to be improved. Improving data quality is a complex task, which has governmental, medical, administrative, IT and infrastructural prerequisites. The National Cancer Registry is involved in numerous national and international scientific projects and has its own research activities. Orv Hetil. 2024; 165(24–25): 925–932.