The future of cancer surveillance

Cancer surveillance is entering an exciting era where the scope of its activities will be expanded and the amount, quality, and depth of information on cancer will be richer and more readily available to practitioners, decision makers and the public. This future is being built on a solid history of accomplishment that has placed cancer foremost among all chronic diseases in the organization and implementation of a systematic and integrated monitoring enterprise that is of essential value in both clinical medicine and public health. The future of cancer surveillance will be driven not only by innovations in methods of cancer surveillance itself, but also by developments in information technology and communication and by revolutionary new tools used in the delivery of medical care. At the same time, it will be a challenge to ensure levels of privacy and confidentiality needed to maintain the public trust. In the Cancer Surveillance and Information Summit, a 2004 conference sponsored by C-Change, experts from the field and from allied and related disciplines in both the public and private sectors met to consider the future of the cancer surveillance enterprise. Seven recommendations, detailed in this article, emerged from the conference to guide future growth and development. Steps that can and should be taken by all individuals and groups involved in cancer surveillance were included. The shared view is that cancer surveillance and information is essential to fulfill a vision for a future where cancer is prevented, detected early, and either cured or managed successfully as a chronic illness.