The new federal Act on registration of oncological diseases requires since January 1st 2020 institutions and treating physicians to transmit regulated data on all Swiss cancer cases and some precancerous pathologies to the competent tumour registry, and to inform their patients about it. This legal basis is intended to enlarge cancer data collection and registration in a traceable, better standardized, more complete and rapid manner. These legal provisions are expected to improve the reliability and efficiency of the analysis of the data, which is crucial for the epidemiological surveillance of cancer in Switzerland, for the benefit of public health policy, clinical management and for the population.