Cancer Program Standards 2009 Revised Edition
This manual replaces Cancer Program Standards 2004.
Implementation of Cancer Program Standards 2009 Revised Edition (released March 2009) is required of all CoC-accredited cancer programs beginning 2009.
This publication has been updated to include all revisions made to Cancer Program Standards 2004 by the Committee on Accreditation of the CoC (since its original release in 2004), and includes modified interpretations of those standards that apply specifically to pediatric hospitals, pediatric components of larger facilities, Veterans Affairs facilities, NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers, and changes for 2009.
Copyright
The Commission on Cancer is pleased to provide this complimentary copy of Cancer Program Standards 2009 Revised Edition for your individual use. Please understand, however, that this information is the copyrighted property of the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons. Any use of this material outside of its original format or context requires permission from the Commission on Cancer.
Questions
Questions regarding the standards presented in Cancer Program Standards 2009 Revised Edition should be submitted to the Inquiry and Response System. Please reference this publication when submitting your question.
Complimentary Electronic Version of Cancer Program Standards 2009 Revised Edition Manual (495K PDF)
Revised Cancer Program Standards Replacement Pages
Early in 2010, the Accreditation Committee of the Commission on Cancer approved several revisions to standards 2.8, 2.9, 2.10, 4.3. The key revision was the deletion of the term “working stage” from these standards. In discussions with the American Joint Committee on Cancer, it was felt that the term “working stage” was not being interpreted the same universally, and thus, it was deleted from these five standards.
During the summer of 2010, the Accreditation Committee changed the requirements to use the College of American Pathologists (CAP) protocols to include cases of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). This change begins January 1, 2011, for the 2011 pathology reports. Note that all other in situ histologies are excluded from the CAP requirement.
This change was enacted to improve the consistency of DCIS reporting, which should lead to improved patient care, evaluation of clinical trials, and research studies.
It is advantageous for all cancer programs either currently accredited or seeking accreditation to replace these pages in their Cancer Program Standards Manual in order to have the most current version of the standards. We also advise programs to update their policies and procedures to reflect these changes. Questions related to compliance with these or other standards may be addressed through the new CAnswer Forum. You may download the revised pages here:- January 2010 Revised Standard 2.8 (25K PDF)
- January 2010 Revised Standard 2.9 (25K PDF)
- January 2010 Revised Standard 2.10 (25K PDF)
- January 2010 Revised Standard 4.3 (25K PDF)
- January 2010 Revised Standard 4.6 (25K PDF)
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Revised February 1, 2012