The Belgian and European Thyroid Cancer Registry. Belgian Thyroid Cancer Study Group

Thyroid cancers frequently have a good prognosis, most of the patients are young and have a long life expectancy. Several hundreds of cases have to be observed over two to five decades before establishing studies of significant actuarial survival and determining the initial prognostic factors likely to characterize the disease. These elements necessitate the creation of a thyroid cancer registry gathering together, from several centres, the data and allowing a computerized multifactorial analysis. Each hospital will have the possibility to participate, with the help of the Belgian Campaign against Cancer, by means of a simple computerized system. Pathologists, endocrinologists, radiologists, radioisotope specialists and surgeons will coordinate their efforts to supply the necessary data to epidemiologists, statisticians and fundamental-researchers. Substantial progress can be expected providing all agree to an individual and collective effort which will have beneficial repercussions on the quality of patient care and the progress of knowledge. The Belgian Thyroid Cancer Study Group will permit our national medicine to meet the European requirements in this regard.