Reporting cancer to the registries

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When a hospital, health facility or pathology laboratory diagnoses or treats someone with cancer they are required by law (Public Health Act) to notify the Central Cancer Registry.

What institutions should submit cancer notifications?

The following institutions submit cancer notifications to the NSW Central cancer Registry:

  • pathology laboratories
  • radiotherapy and medical oncology departments
  • hospitals
  • multi-purpose services
  • forensic medicine
  • residential aged-care facilities
  • day procedure centres.

What information is included in a cancer notification?

Cancer notifications contain information about patients with cancer that includes:

  • Name, address, date of birth and sex
  • Country of birth and Aboriginal status
  • Clinical details about the cancer
  • Information about the notifying institution and doctor.

Personal details, such as name and address, are needed to enure that accurate information is recorded for each person (as people are often treated at multiple locations) and that each new cancer is only counted once.

Cancer notifications are provided as either, pathology reports from pathology laboratories, death certificates from the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, or according to the Cancer Notification Form from hospitals and other notifying institutions. The Central Cancer Registry processes over 250,000 notifications each year, equating to 36,000 cases of Cancer.

How should notifications be submitted to the Central Cancer Registry?

The Cancer Registry Policy Directive outlines the types of notifications that should be submitted to the Central Cancer Registry, along with instructions on the institutions that are required to submit these notifications.

Notifications from Private hospitals are provided through the Cancer Notification Portal.

Link to the Notification portal.

Who is responsible for the notification data?

The NSW Department of Health owns the notification data and the Cancer Institute NSW is the manager and custodian of the data.  The notification data is stored in a database called the NSW Central Cancer Registry.

What is the data from cancer notifications used for?

The notification data are used to compile the NSW Central Cancer Registry. The principal objective of the NSW Central Cancer Registry is to contribute to the prevention, control and treatment of cancer in the population by the supply of timely and accurate data based on the incidence and outcomes of cancer in NSW.

The NSW Central Cancer Registry publishes yearly statistical reports showing numbers and rates of new cases of cancer and deaths from cancer in NSW.

These reports are widely available to the public and used by clinicians, health planners and researchers. The NSW Central Cancer Registry provides data to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and contributes to national and international statistical reports and research on cancer.

Who can I contact for further information on cancer notifications?

For further information, please contact the Cancer Notifications Manager on (02) 8374 3649.

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