PROVIDENCE – In response to Rhode Island’s disproportionately high bladder cancer rates, The Miriam Hospital has established a statewide urologic cancer registry.
The Registry of Genitourinary Malignancy in Rhode Island was created by the hospital’s Minimally Invasive Urology Institute with the help of a $25,000 grant from the Rhode Island Foundation.
A first-of-its-kind project, the registry is intended to keep track of bladder cancer cases in the Ocean State in order to advance research and prevention methods and address treatment disparities.
Researchers also hope to gain a better understanding of why urological cancer rates are high in Rhode Island.
According to The Miriam Hospital, more than 1,300 state residents will be diagnosed with a urologic cancer this year, as Rhode Island’s bladder cancer rate continues to be among the highest in the United States.
“Establishment of a statewide registry and studying hundreds of characteristics and data elements per patient will enable us to take the next steps toward achieving our goal of ultimately improving health outcomes for the people of Rhode Island by reducing the morbidity and mortality resulting from the high incidence of urologic cancers,” said Dr. Gyan Pareek, co-director of the Minimally Invasive Urology Institute, and director of the Kidney Stone Center at The Miriam Hospital.
To learn more about the registry, contact Christopher Tucci, program manager of the Minimally Invasive Urology Institute at The Miriam Hospital, at ctucci@lifespan.org.
Elizabeth Graham is a PBN contributing writer.
