Hospital Cancer Registry: Five Years of Experience at the Cancer Institute of the State of Ceará, Brazil

Abstract

The Hospital Cancer Registry of the Cancer Institute of the State of Ceará (HCR/CCI) has been in operation since 1994, sistematically collecting data about personal characteristics, diagnosis, treatment and evolution of cancer patients treated at this institution. This work presents data from 1992 to 1996. In this period, it was verified an ongoing demand for the facility’s services, specially from women with breast and cervix uteri neoplasms. The most frequent tumour sites in men were prostate and lung. We emphasize the reduction in the frequency of cervix uteri cancer, and a very important increase of prostate cancer cases, a consequence of the increase in the mean age, specially in men. Most patients are from Fortaleza, and of low social-economic level. They arrive, in their majority, with previous treatment, particularly surgery, from public health care institutions, although a tendency of leveling the ratio between patients from public institutions and private ones was observed. Another changing tendency was the growing proportion of tumours with staging done at the beginning of treatment, and the increasing proportion of combined treatments. It was verified the need for a better data collection at various levels: at the hospital registration form, at the medical records, and also at the registry. The main requirement will be the training of receptionists and registars, and the engagement of medical profissionals. The registry has to work specially on the information about the status of the disease at the end of treatment and the survival after it.