Our data & how we collect it

Summary information or aggregate statistics can be accessed or requested by the link below.

https://www.ncri.ie/data/data-request

Requests for individual level data for analysis purposes may be submitted initially via this form.

Individual level data for personal records

Users include:

The NCRI works on behalf of the Department of Health and collects information from all hospitals in Ireland on the number of persons diagnosed with cancer and the types of cancer (or related tumour) they have.  For every new cancer, we register the name, address, sex and date of birth of the patient, PPSN, the type and location of the cancer, how advanced the cancer is and the treatment received by the patient. NCRI also follows up the numbers dying from their cancer or from other causes.

The NCRI has produced national figures on cancer incidence since 1994. Cancers are notified to the NCRI from various sources. 85% of cancers are notified through histopathology. NCRI receives regular scheduled histopathology extracts from the various national hospital laboratories the remainder are notified through sources such as Hospital In Patient Enquiry (HIPE) in public hospitals, death certificates and radiotherapy.

There are a number of reasons for this. Most newly diagnosed cancer cases are identified by us within 12 months of the diagnosis date. However, as cancer cases are identified through a number of sources such as pathology reports, scans and x-rays, and from a number of health care providers, it is essential that all the reports be put into a single record containing the best and most accurate information available. This is a very time consuming exercise and we have limited resources.

Cancer registration is necessary for the following purposes;

Assessing patterns and trends of cancer case numbers, risk, treatment and survival over time and in relation to factors such as age, cancer stage and geographic area
Planning cancer services
Supporting evaluation of the quality of cancer services
Research on the causes and prevention of cancer

Our functions as set out in legislation and are summarised graphically below.