The Queensland Cancer Registry

What is the Cancer Registry?

The Queensland Cancer Registry was established as a population-based registry in 1982 under the Health Act 1937 in response to the need for statewide information on cancer. The Cancer Council Queensland manages the operation of the Registry for Queensland Health. The Cancer Registry maintains a Register of all cases of cancer diagnosed in Queensland since the beginning of 1982.

All information sent to the Registry is kept confidential, is held under tight security and is protected by the Health Act 1937. The main aim of the Registry is to collect data in order to describe the nature and extent of cancer in Queensland.

Sources of data

Notifications are received for all persons with cancer admitted to public and private hospitals and nursing homes. Queensland pathology laboratories provide copies of pathology reports for cancer specimens. Data on all persons who die of cancer or cancer patients who die of other diseases are abstracted from the mortality files of the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages and linked to hospital and pathology data.

What information is on the Register?

Information is collected about patients with cancer and includes:

• name and address
• date of birth
• country of birth
• whether the person is of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent
• clinical details about the cancer
• the notifying institution and doctor.

Personal details, such as name and address, are needed to ensure that accurate information is recorded for each person and that each new cancer is only counted once in the statistics. However, these details are kept strictly confidential. Generally non-melanoma skin cancers are not recorded on the register.

Who has access to information on the Register?

The Registry publishes regular reports showing numbers of cases and rates of different types of cancer in summary form. These reports do not disclose names or other identifying information of cancer patients. These reports are available to the public. To obtain copies of its publications please contact the Cancer Registry.

Additional information on cancer is available at www.health.qld.gov.au

Queensland Cancer Registry data is available for use in research projects on the causes, treatment and prevention of cancer, in the planning and assessment of cancer treatment and prevention services, in monitoring survival times of cancer patients, and for the education of health professionals and members of the general public. Bonafide health and medical researchers can apply to obtain information about identified cancer patients. Access is given when certain stringent criteria are met. These criteria can be obtained from the Cancer Registry.

Additional information

If you would like additional information on the Queensland Cancer Registry and how the register operates contact the Registry on (07) 3258 2333.