A leading role to reduce Luxembourg’s cancer burden

LIH epidemiologist appointed Scientific Director of Luxembourg’s National Cancer Registry

• Public Health Expertise
• Cancer
• Department of Precision Health

Dr Claudine Backes, Epidemiologist for the Luxembourg National Cancer Registry at the Luxembourg Institute of Health, was recently appointed as the new Scientific Director of the National Cancer Registry. This illustrious position will allow her to use her clinical and epidemiological expertise to improve the prevention and care of cancer patients in Luxembourg.

The Luxembourg National Cancer Registry (Registre National du Cancer, RNC) officially collects national data on all new cancer cases, diagnosed and/or treated in Luxembourg for both residents and non-residents alike, in order to have an overview of all cancer patients being cared for in Luxembourg. As a population-based cancer registry, the RNC is a multi-source system and a core component of cancer control strategies. Cancer patients’ data (i.e. information) is collected for public health and research purposes. By providing an unbiased picture of the population cancer burden and its change over time, the RNC plays a unique role in the planning and evaluation of all national actions in the fight against cancer. The National Cancer Registry was officially created the day where the Grand-Ducal Regulation of 18 April 2013 came into force, laying out its terms and conditions. The information collected does not include patient names. Its data processing is strictly confidential in accordance with the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2016/679 from 27 April 2016 and any other applicable regulations. The codification of data follows international classifications and rules (International Classification of Diseases for Oncology – Third Edition (ICD-O-3); the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) TNM-classification of Malignant Tumours for cancer staging – 7th and 8th Edition) to enable international comparisons. The recording and validation rules follow the recommendations from the European Network of Cancer Registries (ENCR) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is the specialised cancer research agency within the World Health Organisation (WHO) of the United Nations. Luxembourg’s National Cancer Registry operates under the supervision of the Luxembourgish Ministry of Health. The Minister of Health entrusted the operational management, development, and scientific use of Luxembourg’s National Cancer Registry to the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH).

With its team of experts, the RNC aims to provide a complete overview and monitoring of cancer cases in Luxembourg and evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment offered to patients. The RNC facilitates assessments of the quality of treatment and care provided to patients at a national and international level. Public health prevention efforts and screening programmes are evaluated to measure their effectiveness and to help public authorities plan and adapt health services to specific population needs. The RNC data also contribute to epidemiological and clinical cancer research.

In a recent development, Dr Claudine Backes, epidemiologist at the LIH, was named Scientific Director of the National Cancer Registry of Luxembourg. Dr Backes has extensive experience in cancer epidemiology and cancer prevention, which will allow her to bring tangible improvements to the quality of life of cancer patients nationwide.

I am honoured to take over this position at the RNC. Luxembourg’s National Cancer Registry has an important role to play in cancer control in Luxembourg. My work at the RNC and future research at the LIH will mainly focus on cancer prevention, care, treatment management and quality of life. My role as the Scientific Director of the RNC will enable me to maximize the potential of RNC data collection and cancer epidemiology to benefit cancer patients across Luxembourg, and to contribute to the National Cancer Plan and research projects,

commented Dr Backes

In addition to her new prestigious appointment, Dr Backes will continue working as a scientist at the University of Lausanne and the University of Geneva, Switzerland.