[Use of population based registries in developing a regional medical program against cancer. Example of the Rhone-Alpes region].

The need for public health planning in France, recently led to the development of a Regional Program in Public Health Organisation (SROS) to describe geographical distribution of facilities and health care activities, in accordance with population needs. Isere Cancer Registry, using its own mortality and morbidity data, evaluated incidence (16,000 new cases each year) and prevalence (100,000 cases) in the Rh-one-Alpes area. Thus, knowing incidence and prevalence of cancer within each district by age and sex, it became much easier for public and private hospitals to quantify their future activities. Today, French cancer registries are conducting methodological studies to improve prevalence estimates, in order to use them in predicting future costs of health care in oncology.