Cancer: key data sources

Scottish Cancer Registry (incidence data)

The Scottish Cancer Registry has been collecting population-based information on cancer since 1958. Details available for each case include personal, demographic and diagnosis information (site, histology, behaviour, histological confirmation, date and hospital of diagnosis). See the Public Health Scotland (PHS) website for further information on the Scottish Cancer Registry.

National Records of Scotland (mortality data)

National Records of Scotland (NRS) is responsible for the registration of deaths in Scotland and all deaths must be recorded in the deaths register. The register records, amongst other things, the cause, time, date and place of death. See the NRS website for further information on the mortality data collected.

International datasets

The World Health Organization's Cancer Today website includes estimates of the incidence of, and mortality from, major cancers worldwide. The degree of detail and quality of data vary considerably across countries, and some of the information is based on samples rather than national populations. The website presents UK, though not Scotland-level, information, so comparative information for Scotland should be obtained from the PHS Cancer incidence in Scotland publication.

Comparisons of survival from cancer across Europe are available from the EUROCARE website, along with background papers discussing the validity and comparability of these estimates.

Coding

The Scottish Cancer Registry codes all new cancers using the ICD-O, an oncology classification that records both the anatomical site (topography) and cancer type and behaviour (morphology). It also classifies cancer using ICD-10, which records only the site of the cancer and is used widely for other health and death records. A variety of staging systems are used to classify the extent of all cancers at the time of diagnosis. The most widely used system is TNM (tumour, nodes and metastases) but other systems are applied such as FIGO for gynaecological tumours.