Palga and science

Every pathology lab in the Netherlands sends excerpts to Palga’s database on a daily basis. An excerpt is a summary of the original pathology report containing relevant data, the pathologist’s conclusion and diagnosis coding lines. The coding lines consist of a combination of diagnostic terms (localisation, method, abnormality) from the Palga Thesaurus.

For some of the excerpts, additional information is available, such as protocolised reporting sections and clinical data, as well as microscopy, macroscopy and the epicrisis from the original pathology report. Through a link with the CBG, dates of death are also available (if applicable).

Researchers who only require figures (for instance on the frequency of a specific diagnosis) can access these through Palga’s public database. If the figures are not available through the public database (for instance if more detailed figures or additional data are needed), a preliminary query (for figures only) or a data request can be submitted through the Palga portal. Researchers can indicate whether they want to link the requested figures or data with other registries or databases. It is also possible to link your own study cohort to Palga’s database. 

Various articles have been published that describe the potential of Palga’s database for scientific research, see for example TSG 90, 2012, pp. 276-279 and Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Oncologie 9, 2012, pp. 104-110.