Cancer in Norway 2005
This year’s Cancer in Norway (CiN) represents a turning point in the history of the Cancer Registry of Norway. 
As a disease registry, we are dependent on timely reports on each patient from the clinical community to enable us to deliver incidence data within one year of the end of the diagnosis year. That we are able to deliver such data for 2005 during 2006 is a consequence of having a legal framework for cancer registration in place in Norway, and underscores the proficiency of each hospital in fulfilling their obligations to report cancers. Ultimately, the timeliness of this report is a product of the dedication of our own staff in interpreting, coding and registering new cancer cases.
We have observed slightly fewer cases in 2005 compared with 2004, possibly representing some degree of underreporting from clinicians. We believe the shortfall is sufficiently minor to warrant publication however, and, as is our remit, we present high quality and timely incidence data in this report.
Cancer in Norway 2005 represents a major transformation of the contents of the annual report. Specific developments include:
• A conversion of the incidence data from ICD-7 to ICD-10
• A more detailed exposition of the registration processes and the quality of the incidence data
• Individual sections on the main indicators: incidence, mortality, prevalence and survival
• Additional results on our website
• The incorporation of a Special Issue – a regular in future CiN reports integrating a research topic of national importance. The first topic providing a detailed breakdown of regional cancer incidence predictions up to 2020.
Cancer in Norway 2005 provides a more coherent link to the core research activities of the Registry, namely research on the causes of cancer, screening-based research, and clinical and registry-based research, the latter being expanded through the organ-specific special registries now being founded at the Registry. The competency within the registry, and the assured links with external milieus, provide us with considerable grounds for confidence going forward into 2007, building on the high quality cancer research activities of the Registry.
Future CiN reports will include more detailed analyses of cancer incidence and survival data that better demonstrate the geographical and temporal variations in Norway. There will also be translations into Norwegian where appropriate, available online as part of the launch of the new website in Spring 2007.
We look forward to continuing and increasing our collaborative links with the regional cancer centres and the clinical community as a whole, as well as expanding our research activities in liaison with cancer researchers, both in Norway and abroad.
Oslo, December 2006
Frøydis Langmark
Director
