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Laura M. Beskow, PhD, MPH, Robert S. Sandler, MD, MPH and Morris Weinberger, PhD

Laura M. Beskow and Morris Weinberger are with the Department of Health Policy and Administration, University of North Carolina School of Public Health, Chapel Hill. Morris Weinberger is also with the Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, NC. Robert S. Sandler is with the Department of Medicine and the Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Laura M. Beskow, MPH, PhD, Dept of Health Policy and Administration, School of Public Health, CB# 7411, McGavran-Greenberg Hall, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7411 (e-mail: laura_beskow{at}unc.edu).

Cancer registries are a valuable resource for recruiting participants for public health–oriented research, although such recruitment raises potentially competing concerns about patient privacy and participant accrual.

We surveyed US central cancer registries about their policies for research contact with patients, and results showed substantial variation. The strategy used most frequently (37.5% of those that allowed patient contact), which was among the least restrictive, was for investigators to notify patients’ physicians and then contact patients with an opt-out approach. The most restrictive strategy was for registry staff to obtain physician permission and contact patients with an opt-in approach.

Population-based studies enhance cancer control efforts, and registry policies can affect researchers’ ability to conduct such studies. Further discussion about balanced recruitment approaches that protect patient privacy and encourage beneficial research is needed.

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