Cancer registration is part of a modern health information system.
Cancer registry are specialists that capture a complete history, diagnosis, treatment, and health status for every oral cancer patient.
The data provide essential information to researchers, healthcare providers, and public health officials to better monitor and advance oral cancer treatments, conduct research, and improve oral cancer prevention and screening programs.
-
Areas with unexplained higher than average risk should be studied in detail. Some findings here are of major public health importance:
-
A comprehensive programme of research into already known determinants of oral cancer risk is needed to inform oral cancer control. Information on modifiable risk factors such as smoking, diet, exercise, alcohol use, medication use, reproductive history and infection, their population prevalence and variation by age, sex, socio-economic status, area of residence, and over time, is essential for an understanding of the cancer burden.
-
The aetiology of oral cancers where risk factors are uncertain requires further investigation, ideally through international collaborations.
-
Patterns of healthcare access and utilisation and how these affect oral cancer risk, need to be understood.
Risk Reduction
-
Research is needed into levels of awareness and knowledge of oral cancer risk factors among the population, and how these vary by age, sex, socio-economic status and geographical area.
-
Action should be taken to reduce the prevalence of important modifiable risk factors such as tobacco, alcohol, overweight and UV exposure.
-
Campaigns and initiatives to help raise awareness of “healthy” lifestyle behaviours (e.g. physical activity) among the public should emphasise the links between lifestyle and oral cancer.
-
Collection of information on determinants of oral health (including socio-economic data collected as part of the census) should be consistent, integrated, systematic and regular.
-
Efforts should be made to increase the compatibility of health, risk factor, census and health service utilisation data.
-
Make the data available for research with appropriate safeguards. Linkage of this data with other routinely collected data should not be unnecessarily restricted.
-
Custodians of data relevant to oral health should be encouraged to clarify the potential for data linkage and the use of this data for the public good should be encouraged by Government policy.
