On December 28, 2025, the decree establishing the creation of a national cancer registry was published in the Official Journal. Until now, France was moving forward almost blindly. In terms of cancer, only a quarter of the population was covered by around thirty local registers.
From now on, the country has a tool to “collect data concerning all cases of cancer in the territory“. A deployment which promises to be gradual, but whose impact on care and prevention will be unprecedented.
Data centralization to put an end to approximations
Currently, cancer figures in France are based on estimates.
As Professor François Guilhot, member of the Academy of Medicine, cited in a report by Macronist MP Michel Lauzzana, points out, current statistics “are based on extrapolations, the reliability of which is questionable“. With the new register, the change of scale is radical.
The device will allow “the collection and matching, in a pseudonymised manner, of data from multiple sources, including cancer registries, existing national databases, clinical and biological data but also care and screening data.
By bringing together this information, the authorities will finally be able to have a real-time inventory.
A tool to reduce social and environmental inequalities
One of the major challenges of this register is also to highlight geographical and social disparities. “There is a lack of data on the most socially vulnerable population and areas exposed to environmental risks” indicated Dr Claire Morgand of INCa, last June to AFP.
The establishment of the national register “thus constitutes a major advance in improving knowledge of the epidemiology of cancers”. By analyzing cases at the “national, regional and sub-regional” levels, researchers will be able to precisely identify sources of pollution or areas of medical deserts.
For Dr Norbert Ifrah and Nicolas Scotté (INCa), who spoke in a press release, “having this data means giving ourselves the means to better objectify realities, to measure social and territorial inequalities.”
A ten-year strategy for personalized medicine
The announcement of this deployment, described as “major action of the ten-year strategy to combat cancer 2021-2030″aims not only to count the sick, but to better care for them.
By identifying the impact of prevention and screening actions, the State will be able to “guide research and public policies“.
This register therefore aims to centralize population data relating to epidemiology and care in the field of cancerology.
Ultimately, this better knowledge should make it possible to optimize treatments for each patient. The deployment will be “gradual”, in close collaboration with digital and health players, to guarantee the security and confidentiality of data.