Our purpose

The main aim of MelCOR is to monitor the patterns of care and outcomes of individuals diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma across Australia. The Registry will provide population-based information on the patterns of care for people diagnosed with melanoma and assess whether there is variation in diagnostic or treatment pathways and the impact of such variation on health related outcomes.

Clinical registries such as MelCOR are valued tools for quality improvement. They improve care by arming clinicians with information about how their management and outcomes compare with their peers and against what is considered optimal care both locally and (sometimes) internationally. Registries identify variation in patterns and processes of care as well as outcomes and help identify factors that influence adverse outcomes. Registries also provide a valuable tool to track how innovations in science translate into outcomes in the ‘real world’.

Who we are

The Melanoma Clinical Outcomes Registry (MelCOR) is a clinical quality registry (CQR), which collects information about early stage diagnosis, treatment and outcomes of individuals diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma in Australia. Developed by a not for profit expert consortium, the registry will be Australia’s most comprehensive database available for research, public policy and treatment.

MelCOR has widespread support from patient representative groups and health care professionals, because it will indicate whether people affected by melanoma are receiving the best possible treatment. To this end, individuals who are newly diagnosed with melanoma are being contacted and invited to provide to MelCOR information regarding their treatment and well being.

Information from the Registry will be used to describe outcomes as well as  pathways for care of patients with melanoma. Quality indicators that measure compliance with agreed (and evidence-based) best practice will be used to measure and where necessary drive improvements in quality of care across Australia.

Why participate

By participating and allowing information about your diagnosis, treatment and health outcomes to be collected by MelCOR, you are contributing to the improvement of the quality of care and outcomes for patients diagnosed with melanoma in the future.

MelCOR holds participant privacy and discretion with the highest regard. We are committed to maintaining anonymity and confidentiality at all times. Participants who no longer wish to be involved in the registry can remove their consent for participation, and remove their data from the registry, at any time

MelCOR Pilot

MelCOR is currently funded from the proceeds of three National Melanoma Marche events, coordinated by the Melanoma Institute Australia (MIA), and involving 36 community partners in each Australian State and Territory.

The MelCOR pilot study involving Queensland and Victoria state cancer registries will determine the feasibility of an ongoing, Australia wide melanoma registry. The pilot study is managed by the Cancer Research Program of the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University.