Health Services Data: The Ontario Cancer Registry (a Unique, Linked, and Automated Population-Based Registry)

Abstract

Since its creation in 1964, the Ontario Cancer Registry (OCR) has been an important source of high-quality information on cancer incidence and mortality. As a population-based registry, the OCR can be used to assess the provincial burden of cancer, track the progress of cancer control programs, identify health disparities among subpopulations, plan and improve healthcare, perform health services research, verify clinical guideline adherence, evaluate screening effectiveness, and much more. With over one third of Canadians residing in Ontario, the OCR is the nation’s largest provincial cancer registry and a major contributor to the Canadian Cancer Registry. In 2015 alone, the OCR collected data on an estimated 83,000 malignant cases.