Established in 1963, the Cancer Liaison Program of the Commission on Cancer (CoC) was developed as a grassroots network of physician volunteers willing to manage clinically related cancer activities in their local institutions and surrounding communities. Initially, membership was limited to surgeons, however, membership was expanded in the 1970s to reflect the multidisciplinary composition of professionals who care for patients with cancer. Today, 45 percent of the 1,600 Cancer Liaison Physicians represent non-surgical disciplines.

What are Cancer Liaison Physicians?

Cancer Liaison Physicians (CLPs) are volunteer physicians responsible for providing the leadership and direction to establish, maintain, and support their facility's cancer program. They are charged with the task of spearheading CoC activities at the facility and community level. CLPs are a required component of CoC approved cancer programs and serve a three-year term with eligibility to serve an unlimited number of terms.

What is the Defined Role of the Cancer Liaison Physician?

Cancer Liaison Physician are leaders of the cancer program, someone that will support the facility's efforts in complying with and maintaining the CoC's standards, facilitate activities with the interests of the cancer patients, facility, and the community in mind, and dedicated to improving the quality of care delivered to the cancer patient.

The main activities we ask Cancer Liaison Physicians to be involved in include the following: working with staff to promote the facility's CoC approval and make the program visible; attending and contributing to the cancer committee; using NCDB data to study cancer care, improvement initiatives and opportunities; spearheading initiatives to comply with CoC standards (i.e. quality data submission and review and cancer staging accuracy); and finally, facilitating the relationship with the American Cancer Society (ACS) Note: Web conferences on the role of the CLP are scheduled every other month – details can be found at http://www.facs.org/cancer/coc/clpwebconferences.html.

Who Provides Leadership for the Cancer Liaison Physicians?

Those who provide direction to the CLPs across the country are called State Chairs. The local Chapters of the American College of Surgeons appoint the 65 CoC State Chair positions. Several states have more than one State Chair to manage the geographic distribution of CLPs; in this case, a State Chair is assigned to a Region or Zone. State Chairs serve a three-year term and can serve a second term based on evaluation of their performance.

What are the Responsibilities of the State Chairs?

State Chairs serve as the leader and key contact in the state for information about programs and activities of the CoC. Within their own State or Region, State Chairs execute the following:

• Communicate regularly with the CLPs on CoC and state cancer control activities.
• Evaluate CLP activity.
• Host an annual meeting of the CLPs.
• Serve on the local American College of Surgeons Chapter Council and report on Commission activities.
• Utilize the National Cancer Database (NCDB) public use data to illustrate the quality of cancer care in the state and identify areas for improvement.
• Participate in collaborative activities with cancer care agencies in the state, such as the Division of the ACS and State Comprehensive Cancer Control Team.

Revised April 13, 2007