Introducing a cost-effective cancer registry system for Bangladesh

Abstract

Cancer is an internecine disease caused by uncontrollable cell growth. There are many types of cancer, some severe and untreatable. In Bangladesh, there are 13 to 15 lac cancer patients and 2 lac new cases each year. A central cancer registry is needed to give patients more accurate diagnoses and treatments and preserve their data for research. This system should compile data on demographics, diagnoses, tumor histology, treatment, and outcomes. Dispersed hospital-based registry systems have been introduced, but there is no central database for treatment and diagnosis information that registered users can access. For this reason, we decided to research an affordable and effective cancer registry system that will give patients and doctors the information they need. To design a cost-effective and user-friendly cancer registry, we divided it into doctor, patient, and admin panels and two databases. Before building the registry system’s interface, we asked doctors and patients if they were comfortable using it. OCR can extract data from any document uploaded by registered users and save it automatically in a database. Our goal is to create a simple, efficient cancer registry that reduces doctor and patient suffering. For a developing country like Bangladesh, a digitalized cancer registry system must be cost-effective. Individual smart cards for registering and maintaining patient data are common in many developed countries. They are inexpensive and cost-efficient. Individual cards with QR codes for patient registration and retrieval from the main database is an ideal solution for Bangladesh that the government can put into practice.