Cancer types
To study geographical variation, there must be sufficient numbers of diagnoses for a particular cancer type. The Dutch Cancer Atlas displays the geographic distribution for 24 different cancer types for which the incidence was high enough for a reliable analysis. Additionally, the atlas shows the category 'all cancers.' This includes the total of all (invasive) cancers.
In the Netherlands Cancer Registry (NCR), the location (the place in the body where the cancer originated, also called topography) and the morphological classification (tissue typing) of the tumour are registered as accurately as possible for all patients. Classification of cancer types is created by combining the topography and morphology. This table shows which subtypes were included for each of the 24 cancer types in the Cancer Atlas (dark blue rows), with their corresponding topography and morphology codes. The map of all cancers in the Cancer Atlas shows all invasive cancers excluding basal cell carcinoma of the skin and including ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and non-invasive cancers of the bladder and urinary tract. For an overview of all the tumour types that are registered in the Netherlands Cancer Registry (NCR), you can refer to the table Tumour Classification Netherlands Cancer Registry.