Population-based cancer survivorship research: Experiences from Germany and the Netherlands

Research into the well-being of cancer survivors in the post-treatment phase can face the potential challenge of identifying and recruiting survivors. Population-based cancer registries can address this challenge. Through linkage with national and state cancer registries, Germany and the Netherlands have a long history of conducting population-based survivorship studies. The CAESAR study from Germany and the PROFILES registry from the Netherlands are examples of large and comprehensive population-based survivorship studies assessing the well-being of (long-term) cancer survivors. This paper briefly describes the contributions studies such as CAESAR and PROFILES have made to cancer survivorship research at the patient, clinical, research, and societal level. Potential barriers associated with population-based survivorship research and directions are also discussed.