From November 13-16, 2023, workshops and the "2023 Joint ENCR-IACR Scientific Conference" took place in Granada, Spain, targeting cancer registry professionals worldwide. The event was jointly organized by the International Association of Cancer Registries (IACR) and the European Network of Cancer Registries (ENCR), of which the Greater Poland Cancer Registry Office (WBRN) is a member. This was the first personal opportunity in four years for the exchange of knowledge and experiences among individuals involved in cancer registration in Europe and around the world.
The workshops covered various aspects crucial for cancer registries, divided into four thematic blocks:
- Workshop 1 – "Registration of treatment variables in Population Based Cancer Registries."
- Workshop 2 – "Population-based cancer survival metrics."
- Workshop 3 – "Recurrences."
- Workshop 4 – "IT tools and novel AI approaches for cancer registration."
Workshop 1 was led by representatives of the ENCR-JRC Working Group, responsible for developing a new set of recommendations for collecting information on oncological treatment methods by cancer registries. The draft recommendations were made available for consultation in October 2023 on the ENCR website (https://encr.eu/news/draft-recommendation-treatment-consultation-registries-deadline-extended). The document specifies the types of treatment subject to registration and clarifies their definitions, aiming to minimize discrepancies in data reported by cancer registries associated with ENCR, thereby improving the quality and comparability of cancer data.
During Workshop 2, participants had the opportunity to systematize and deepen their knowledge on calculating both basic and more sophisticated measures determining the survival of patients diagnosed with cancer. Specialists in statistical research in oncology from the United Kingdom presented the pros and cons of various measures and methods in a very accessible manner, highlighting common logical pitfalls and errors made during the calculation and/or estimation of survivals. The workshops also featured examples of scientific publications and projects using specific statistical methods and types of analyses.
New recommendations for collecting information on recurrences, developed by the ENCR-JRC Working Group, were the focus of Workshop 3. Representatives of the working group discussed the concept of principles for collecting data on cancer recurrences and relapses in patients, as well as a proposal for defining these events. The workshops addressed the challenging topic of standardizing data on recurrences for various cancer locations and the need to determine detailed and exhaustive definitions to facilitate registrars' interpretation of information reported in the medical documentation of cancer patients. Participants were encouraged to provide their feedback and doubts regarding the presented proposals.
Workshop 4 was organized as a joint initiative by Maciej Trojanowski (WBRN), Mats Lambe (Regional Cancer Registries, Sweden), and Volker Arndt (Cancer Registry Baden-Württemberg, Heidelberg, Germany). Innovative applications for collecting data in cancer registries and IT tools using Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques for data extraction and processing were presented during the workshop. At the invitation of the organizers, Łukasz Taraszkiewicz (WBRN) presented a lecture titled "Making Quality Check Rules More IT-Friendly: Streamlining Implementation in Cancer Registry Software," sharing Polish experiences gathered during work on the e-KRN+ platform. Maciej Trojanowski, as a member of the ENCR Steering Committee, moderated the workshops.
The above topics aligned well with changes in the Polish cancer registry system, including the expansion of collected information to include biomarkers, recurrences, ICCC-3 classification, treatment lines and schemes, and new forms of reporting information on cancer cases to the National Cancer Registry database. In light of upcoming updates in the field of applicable specialized classifications (including ICD-11 and ICD-O-4) and methodologies for collecting cancer data, the participation of teams from Regional Cancer Registry Offices in international expert meetings is an essential element in developing their competencies.
Conference proceedings focused on recent global cancer registry issues, including:
- Registry Innovations, Research and Health Policy.
- COVID-19 - Impact on Cancer Surveillance, Services, and Outcomes.
- Descriptive Epidemiology Including Special Populations.
- Childhood Cancer Registration.
- Clinical and Epidemiological Studies from Cancer Registry Data.
During dedicated meetings, WBRN employees also participated in events related to collecting data on cancer cases among migrants (CANCER RADAR Breakfast meeting) and childhood cancers (BENCHISTA).
The activities of WBRN employees who participated in these events are presented below.
Maciej Trojanowski:
- Oral presentation - "The pandemic-related disparities in 2020 cancer incidence by sex and age - Greater Poland, Poland," Authors: Maciej Trojanowski, Irmina Maria Michalek.
- Oral presentation - "Incidence gap in screening-detectable cancers during the first year of COVID-19 pandemics - Wielkopolskie, Poland," Authors: Irmina Maria Michalek, Maciej Trojanowski.
- Poster presentation - "Advancements in the e-KRN+: Insights into cancer recurrence, progression, and transformation in Polish Cancer Registries," Authors: Anna Kubiak, Maciej Trojanowski, Łukasz Taraszkiewicz, Irmina Maria Michalek, Piotr Radomyski, Witold Kycler.
- Poster presentation - "New approach in cancer data collection eKRN+ in Polish Regional Cancer Registries (PRCR)," Authors: Łukasz Taraszkiewicz, Maciej Trojanowski, Anna Kubiak.
- Initiator and moderator: Workshop 4 - IT tools and novel AI approaches for cancer registration Faculty: Mats Lambe, Volker Arndt, Maciej Trojanowski, Łukasz Taraszkiewicz, Irmina Michalek, Siri Larønningen, Carolynn Gildea, Alexander Katalinic, Marco Halber, Dimitris Katsimpokis, Maaike van Swieten, Kees Kleihues van Tol, Bianca Franke, Philipp Leppert.
- Session moderator during the conference: Registry Innovations, Research, and Health Policy - Chairs: Vesna Zadnik and Maciej Trojanowski.
- Participation in Workshop 2: Population-based cancer survival metrics.
Łukasz Taraszkiewicz:
- Poster presentation - "Advancements in the e-KRN+: Insights into cancer recurrence, progression, and transformation in Polish Cancer Registries," Authors: Anna Kubiak, Maciej Trojanowski, Łukasz Taraszkiewicz, Irmina Maria Michalek, Piotr Radomyski, Witold Kycler.
- Poster presentation - "New approach in cancer data collection eKRN+ in Polish Regional Cancer Registries (PRCR)," Authors: Łukasz Taraszkiewicz, Maciej Trojanowski, Anna Kubiak.
- Oral presentation - Workshop 4 titled "Making Quality Check Rules More IT-Friendly: Streamlining Implementation in Cancer Registry Software" - presentation of Polish experiences gathered during work on the e-KRN+ application.
- Participation in Workshop 2: Population-based cancer survival metrics.
Anna Kubiak:
- Poster presentation - "Advancements in the e-KRN+: Insights into cancer recurrence, progression, and transformation in Polish Cancer Registries," Authors: Anna Kubiak, Maciej Trojanowski, Łukasz Tarszkiewicz, Irmina Maria Michalek, Piotr Radomyski, Witold Kycler.
- Poster presentation - "New approach in cancer data collection eKRN+ in Polish Regional Cancer Registries (PRCR)," Authors: Łukasz Tarszkiewicz, Maciej Trojanowski, Anna Kubiak.
- Participation in Workshop 1: Registration of treatment variables in Population Based Cancer Registries.
- Participation in Workshop 3: Recurrences.
Marta Łyjak:
- Participation in Workshop 1: Registration of treatment variables in Population Based Cancer Registries.
- Participation in Workshop 3: Recurrences.