The role of cancer registration for programming health services

The Italian National Health Plan 1998-2000 indicates quantitative and quali tative goals in the fight against cancer. This approach stresses the need o f reliable and updated descriptive data to evaluate, at a population level, the burden of neoplastic disease, the results of primary and secondary pre ventive actions, and the efforts towards a more equal distribution of diagn ostic and therapeutic services. The aims of this paper is to evaluate the use of descriptive data to quanti fy the burden of neoplastic disease, using the data provided by the network of Italian cancer registries (the most reliable source of information on n eoplastic disease in Italy). Crude rates are the most adequate for describi ng the "burden" of cancer patients who are expected in a certain period and will need specific diagnostic or therapeutic activities. Incidence, preval ence and mortality rates provide information on different phenomena (i.e., patients requiring diagnostic and therapeutic activities related with the f irst definition and treatment of the disease; patients requiring periodic f ollow-up or treatment of disease relapse; need palliative care). The use of these measures combined is highly informative in relation with the differe nt objectives of health planners (i.e., patients requiring diagnostic and t herapeutic activities related with the first definition and treatment of th e disease; patients requiring periodic followup or treatment of disease rel apse; need palliative care).