Considering that the cancer control program is one of the health priorities of the country, therefore, special attention should be given to preventing and controlling the most common cancers such as colorectal cancer (CRC) in Iran. The cancer registration system, which involves the systematic and continuous collection of patient’s information and their analysis and presenting the incidence of cancer in a given geographic area, is the cornerstone of cancer control program. In this study, in cooperation with the experts and specialists associated with the Poursina Hakim Gastroenterology Clinic, the requiring data for the registration of CRC patients were collected systematically.
To determine variables associated with CRC, a strategic research committee was formed composed of collaborating specialties in gastroenterology, oncology, radiotherapy, pathology, and epidemiology, and several meetings held to address data elements. Then based on the similar foreign valid checklists and the experts' opinions, a list of variables were developed.
Variables were allocated in the following fields: demographic characteristics, anthropometric indicators, risk factors, clinical and paraclinical items, detection criteria, metastasis information, treatment information, follow-up items, and outcome data. Afterward, the variables divided in two main groups: core, and expanded core data elements. After confirming the forms by the specialists, eighty core and ninety-seven expanded core data elements were brought together. The final checklist was coded by referring to the 10th edition of the Statistical and International Classification of Diseases and Health Problems (ICD10) and the Third Edition of the International Classification of Oncology Diseases (ICD-O).
Systematically collecting data and registering and monitoring CRC patients is undoubtedly necessary for proper management of the disease. Consequently, effective steps can be taken to better understand CRC risk factors, as well as to reduce the burden of disease and ultimately promote people's health.
