Cancer Registry Organization and Operations

Vocabulary terms and definitions covering the history, types, and operational flow of cancer registries as outlined in Chapter 1 of Cancer Registry Management 4th Edition.

Cancer Registries Amendment Act

The law that requires states to establish regulations for reporting cancer cases by facilities and practitioners, guarantees registry access to records, requires standardized formats, ensures data confidentiality, and protects compliers from liability.

Hospital registries

Registries that maintain data on all patients diagnosed and/or treated for cancer at their specific facility to improve patient care, administrative processes, clinical research, and education.

Population-based registries

Registries that record all cancer cases in a defined population or geographic area, such as a state, primarily for epidemiology and public-health purposes.

Epidemiology

The science used to find the causes of health outcomes and diseases in populations.

Special registries

Registries that collect and maintain data on specific types of cancer, such as an explicit type of bone cancer.

Central cancer registries

Regional or state-level population-based registries that maintain data on all cancer patients within a geographical area, often housed in state health departments or universities.

Commission on Cancer (CoC)

An accrediting body for hospitals; accredited facilities must report cancer data to the National Cancer Database (NCDB) in addition to central registries.

National Cancer Database (NCDB)

The database to which CoC-accredited hospitals report their cancer data.

CDC NPCR

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Program of Cancer Registries, one of two large national registries responsible for maintaining data for the entire U.S.

NCI SEER

The National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results, which along with the CDC NPCR, collects and maintains U.S. cancer data for research and public health.

Hospital cancer registrar

The professional responsible for collecting information from medical records for every case diagnosed or treated in a facility, following patients throughout their life, and submitting data to central registries.

Abstract

A summary of patient information collected by a registrar including demographics, history, diagnostic procedures, lab results, primary site, histology, stage of disease, and treatment.

Central cancer registrar

A professional whose main job is to consolidate multiple case records from various facilities into one single record per patient to ensure accuracy and eliminate duplicates.

North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR)

The organization that provides guidelines and certification for central registries, focusing on data timeliness, accuracy, and completeness.