[Tumor registries--possibilities and risks]

Accurately identified and carefully stored diagnoses could eventually supply important pointers to still unknown laws governing the incidence of cancer. Unfortunately, however, diagnoses which are formulated in a simplified manner, are often overrated. If differentiated analyses are concerned with the large spectrum of variety of cancer, they are often disregarded or, rather, ignored. Hence, the risks involved in the storage of conventional and commonplace concepts in computers are indeed very high. Even if a sharply defined concept such as pregnancy diagnosis during the first three months of pregnancy under the viewpoint of terminator is employed, this may involve the programming of errors which are absolutely weird. It follows from this that utmost caution is advised when propagating the concept of a computerized "cancer register" which is now "en vogue", since this may lead to the institutionalisation of glaring errors and misinterpretations. It would be particularly inane to set up registers as appendices to so-called cancer centres, as suggested by the Federal German Ministry of Labour. Only few persons will be able to imagine and assess the possible consequences of such action.