Content of the registry
The content of the registry is based on data from the Cancer Registry's incidence registry, and is related to cases of a disease within the period of diagnosis. This is the Cancer Registry's core data material.
Since 1952 the Cancer Registry of Norway has systematically collected information on cancer occurrence in the Norwegian population. Reporting on malignant neoplasms, precancerous disorders and some benign tumours have been mandatory since the establishement in 1952.
The incidence registry contains data collected from clinicians and pathologists, and also from radiotherapy machines at the hospitals, the National Population Register, the Norwegian Cause of Death Registry and the Norwegian Patient Registry (NPR).
The Cancer Registry of Norway has eight national medical quality registries and three medical quality registries.
Population and geography
The Cancer Registry of Norway contains health information about all persons in Norway that have or have had cancer. In addition the Cancer Registry contains health information on precancerous disorders and benign tumours of the central nervous system and meninges.
Inclusion or exclusion criteria
The table «Description of ICD-10 codes» in the publication Cancer in Norway presents further information on inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Data collection period
From 1953 to the present day.
Variables
Go to the variable overview to create variable lists and to see detailed information about the variables in this data source.
For information on all data content in the Cancer Registry, go to the metadatabase of the Cancer Registry of Norway.
The Cancer Registry of Norway includes eight national medical quality registries and three medical quality registries where, for specific cancer site, additional variables are established to provide detailed information on diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of patients.
Data quality
Completeness and validity
The Cancer Registry of Norway (CRN) receives and collects information from different data sources; clinical notifications are sent using the CRN electronic reporting service (KREMT), pathology reports from laboratories, data from radiotherapy machines, information from hospital cancer medication systems, the Central Population Registry, the Norwegian Cause of Death Registry and the Norwegian Patient Registry (NPR), which ensures a high degree of validity and completeness of registered data.
The data quality of the Cancer registry of Norway is assessed as very high because the Cancer Registry undertakes a specific assessment of all pathology reports received from the laboratories and compiles them with other data sources mentioned above.
For variables collected from pathology reports, completeness is generally high.
The registry has a high degree of completeness for all cancer cases in Norway from 1953.
Comparabilty
Coding and classification of data mainly follows international standards and allows for comparison with other countries.
Actuality
Data for a calendar year are finalised in the spring of the following year and continues to be updated if new information becomes available.
Reliability
The reliability of data of the Cancer Registry of Norway is optimised by specialisation in coding skills of employees registering the data. The Cancer Registry works closely with the other Nordic cancer registries to ensure consistent coding practices.
Open data
Cancer in Norway is the Cancer Registry's annual report on cancer in Norway. The report presents complete incidence data for the different cancer sites, stratified by sex, age and county of residence. In addition, statistics on prevalence, mortality and survival are presented in the report.
Statistics on cancer cases are published in the Cancer Registry of Norway’s online statistics bank. The statistics bank contains incidence of cancer cases in Norway available up to and including the last available year of diagnosis. The statistics can be stratified by diagnostic groups, sex, age, period of diagnosis and regions such as counties and regional health trusts.
The Nordic cancer registries collaborate on publishing cancer statistics for the Nordic countries in NORDCAN. The Norwegian data is from the Cancer Registry of Norway.
Criteria for data access
The data sources have different purposes and are regulated by different laws and regulations. In order to access information from the data sources, what you plan to use the information for must be in accordance with the purpose of the data source.
The types of approvals and documents you must submit to access information depend on what you are applying for, what you are going to use the information for and how you are going to process it. We therefore recommend that you take the time to familiarize yourself with the application guides before starting the application process:
Application guide for anonymous, aggregated data (statistical data)
Application guide for personally identifiable data
Purpose
The purpose of the Cancer Registry of Norway is
-to collect data on cancer occurrence and describe the distribution of cancer and changes over time
- to contribute to improving the quality of health care provided for cancer patients
- to conduct, promote and provide a foundation for research to establish new knowledge about the cause, diagnosis, course of illness and effect of treatment
in accordance with the Cancer Registry Regulation § 1-3.
Legal authority
The Cancer registry of Norway is authorised by the Health Registry Act § 11 (lovdata.no), and regulated in accordance with the Cancer Registry Regulation (lovdata.no)
Apply for access to data
You can apply for access to data from the registry via the application forms at helsedata.no.
Data controller and data processor
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health is both the data controller and the data processor.
Prices for access to data
Helsedataservice charges for the processing of applications submitted via helsedata.no, while the data custodians charge for data preparation and making the data material available. Helsedataservice and the data custodians will issue separate invoices.
See information about invoicing and the processing time at the Cancer Registry of Norway.