[German Childhood Cancer Registry and its favorable setting]

The population-based German Childhood Cancer Registry (GCCR) has been in operation since 1980. It covers all of Germany, is almost complete, and fulfils the international criteria for a high quality registry. The current population basis is 13 million children,and so far more than 35,000 cases are registered. Cancer registration of children in Germany works very well, while it has been generally more difficult for adults so far. The reason is the close cooperation with the Pediatric Oncology Association and its therapy optimization trials, neither of which have been similarly established for adults. The regular data exchange with multicenter trials creates synergies benefiting the completeness of the cases as well as the quality of the records. This permits the epidemiologic database to be augmented by clinical information. Another important aspect is the implementation of an active, open-end, long-term follow-up well into adulthood, which provides us with useful data for epidemiology and clinical research. This also creates considerable interest in the data on the part of the reporting clinics. Further helpful aspects are the relatively small number of clinics involved, the great cooperation from the parents, and the generally high public interest in childhood cancer.