Introduction: Cancer registries contain information essential to any rational program of evidence-based cancer control, including cancer epidemiology and outcomes, and can be site-specific, hospital-based, or population-based. The creation of a national population-based cancer registry and hospital-based cancer registries was mandated in the National Cancer Control Act of 2019. This paper reports on the creation and maintenance of the Cancer CARE Registry and Research Philippines (CARE PH) app, the country's first hospital-based cancer registry system, and its future directions in registry and research.

Methods: A cancer registry in the form of a web-based application was developed through the collaboration between a clinician and a health information technology specialist. This registry was designed to follow the cancer patient's journey from diagnosis to staging to treatment and cure, relapse, or progression into death. Patient information is collected in a structured and secure process from designated catchment areas in each hospital by trained tumor registrars, with the main catchment area being the hospital's Surgical Pathology department. The CARE PH application is given to member hospitals for free through the support of grants given to the CARE PH Foundation, Inc.

Results and discussion: Today, 31 member hospitals in the CARE PH system have recorded a collective total of 9,880 new cancer patients for the year 2020. The most common cancer types recorded in CARE PH for 2020 include breast, colorectal, cervical, and head and neck cancers. In addition, the registry captures a myriad of information that can potentially answer questions relevant to the individual cancer patient and clinicians, and hospital administrators.

Conclusion: HBCRs are an indispensable part of effective cancer control programs as they facilitate making evidence-based decisions that would result in better healthcare for Filipino cancer patients.

Philippines ; Neoplasms ; Epidemiology