MPs want to create a national cancer registry: what could it be used for?

A bill to establish a national cancer registry is being examined this Monday in the National Assembly . This registry should make it possible to accurately calculate the number of French people affected by the disease, although the number is estimated at 4 million, although there is no certainty.

Because while some registries already exist, they only cover a few regions. Only a quarter of the population is covered. This is not representative and it is not without consequences: "We see that there is an increase in the number of cancers," sometimes unexplained, explains Dr. Céline Chauleur, head of the gynecological surgery department at the Saint-Etienne University Hospital.

"It's important to collect this data to identify risk factors. It's both prevention and research," she assures.

This would, for example, allow us to know if cancers are linked to where you live... To ultimately improve screening, diagnosis, and treatment as well. A huge and very costly undertaking.

Except that "it's an investment for the future," insists Dr. Chauleur. Fewer patients means less spending for the Social Security system. Because cancer treatments cost more than 22 billion euros in 2021, while the pathology is the most expensive for health insurance, representing 12.1% of its total spending, according to a report from the Court of Auditors .

With 157,000 annual deaths, cancer is the leading cause of premature death in France.

Adopted in April 2023 by the Senate, the legislative process for the bill being considered this Monday was stagnating until Aurélien Rousseau (PS) brought the issue back to the table in early June, at the same time as he announced that he had cancer.