Cancer Registration (CANCER) Dataset#
Last modified: 21 Oct 2026
1. Summary#
Data are collected by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS), which is part of NHS England’s National Disease Registration Service (NDRS). This dataset is a subset of the Cancer Outcomes and Services Dataset (COSD), which is the national standard for collecting cancer data in the NHS. The dataset includes all patients (adults and children) diagnosed with or receiving cancer treatment in or funded by the NHS in England. Data are collected under section 251 of the NHS Act 2006. Patients may opt out of the Cancer Registry, but this is different from the National data opt out.
| Dataset Descriptor | Dataset-specific Information |
|---|---|
| Name of Dataset in TRE | NHSE_CANCER |
| Citation (APA) | Data Services, NHS England (NHSE). (2024). NHS England: Cancer Registration Dataset - Dated 23 May 2024. UK Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration (UK LLC). https://doi.org/10.71760/ukllc-dataset-00383-02 |
| Download Citation | Citeproc JSON BibTeX RIS |
| Series | NHS England |
| Owner | NHS England |
| Copyright | Copyright © (2026), NHS England. Data re-used with the permission of NHS England. All rights reserved. |
| Temporal Coverage in the TRE | 01/1971 - ongoing |
| Geographical Coverage | England |
| Participant Count | 37191 |
| Number of Variables | 16 |
| Number of Observations | 45820 |
| Key Link | https://digital.nhs.uk/ndrs/ |
| Keywords | Cancer |
| Latest Extract Date | 2024-04-26 |
| Specific Restrictions to Data Use | A Codelist must be completed. |
| Build a Data Request | https://explore.ukllc.ac.uk/ |
2. Metrics#
| Cohort | Participant Count |
|---|---|
| AIRWAVE | 4766 |
| ALSPAC | 295 |
| BCS70 | 745 |
| BIB | 910 |
| ELSA | 2217 |
| EPICN | 5873 |
| EXCEED | 2128 |
| GLAD | 5763 |
| MCS | 1390 |
| NCDS58 | 1575 |
| NEXTSTEP | 239 |
| NIHRBIO_COPING | 2561 |
| NSHD46 | 1239 |
| TEDS | 108 |
| TRACKC19 | 1756 |
| TWINSUK | 3173 |
| UKHLS | 1133 |
| UKREACH | 1320 |
3. Version History#
4. Documentation#
We are currently building a documentation storage system which will host useful documents related to datasets and data owners. We will surface these documents on Guidebook.
5. Useful Syntax#
Below we will include syntax that may be helpful to other researchers in the UK LLC TRE. For longer scripts, we will include a snippet of the code plus a link to the UK LLC GitHub repository where you can find the full scripts.