The AHCP Cancer Registries and Databases:  Promoting Excellence in Cancer Research Worldwide – A 62 Years of Research Success Stories.

The AHCP Cancer Registries and Databases:

Promoting Excellence in Cancer Research

Worldwide – A 62 Years of Research Success

Stories, From 1938 – 2000 and Serving

Researchers from the 20^th to the 21^st Century

Burke E.W and The AHCP Cancer Registry Team

Association of Health Care professionals, European Region, Hanover, Germany

Introduction

Across history, the registration of people suffering from cancer has developed as a slow process with many challenges along the way.

This article briefly summarises the Association of Health care Professionals(AHCP) Cancer Registry, and the full report is available on request.

In 1728, a first, unsuccessful, cancer census took place in London, England and, up to the beginning of 20^th century, attempts at establishing reliable and comparable mortality or morbidity statistics for cancer were abortive and little factual knowledge was gained¹.

By 1900, critical voices in England and, above all, in Germany demanded improved statistical investigations on the spread of cancer in the population as an indispensable basis for etiological research. In 1899, Katz requested a general survey on cancer in Hamburg, and in 1900 an attempt was made to register all cancer patients in Germany who were under medical treatment². Questionnaires were sent to every physician in the country, via the Prussian Ministry of Culture, to record the prevalence on 15 October 1900². Nevertheless, the first Cancer Registry was established in Germany in 1929².

During the Annual Scientific Meeting and Conference of the AHCP in Geneva Switzerland in August 1935, a German Medical Researcher, Hans Muller presented his Team’s work on lung cancer using epidemiological data from the German Cancer Registry. This was indeed well received by the delegates and members of the Association at the event. These discussions led to the formation of a Steering Group by the AHCP General Committee and Council in 1936³, which led to the developments of AHCP Cancer Registries in the various sponsored international Medical and Healthcare Centres in different countries/continents from 1938^3-5.

Consequently, from March 1938 to March 1995, there are now over 1105 AHCP Cancer Registries and Databases globally, operating via generous donations and sponsorships^4,5. These are being used by researchers in the various 1129 AHCP Sponsored Medical Centres and Community Healthcare Services worldwide^4,5. The aim of this article is to present the overview of the role of the AHCP Cancer Registries and Databases globally.