November/December 2001
Highlights for the month:
December 31 Deadline Nears For NCDB Call For Data
The deadline for completing the NCDB Call for Data for cases accessioned during the years 1985, 1990,1995, and 2000 is December 31, 2001. Registries at CoC-approved cancer programs should submit data using our new Web-based submission application. You can access the application by clicking on CoC DATAlinks on our Web page. The Username and Password required to gain entry are the same as those used to access the FIPS system. Step-by-step instructions for completing your submission are available on the NCDB Web page.
Highlights
Facility Identification Numbers Now Online
Do you need a FIN number? Check out our Web site to download a current FIN list. This downloadable text file will be updated on a monthly basis, so be sure to check the list regularly for changes. If you can't find the number you're looking for, there's also a FIN Request Form you can complete to get a FIN assigned to any medical facility—that is, a new hospital or freestanding cancer center.
Highlights
FIPS Update
The CoC would like to thank the 412 facilities that have updated their facility information on FIPS - the Facility Information Profile System. The American Cancer Society (ACS) recently informed us that the date for updating their Web site with the FIPS information will be delayed; however, they anticipate that this process will be completed soon. We will inform you when the information is available. Once everything is up and running, updates to the ACS site from FIPS will occur daily, offering the public the most current information about your facility.
We encourage you to maintain and update this system as necessary. For those facilities that have not yet done so, please take the time to enter the system (using the user ID and password sent to you in September) and review and update your information. You can enter FIPS though the CoC DATAlinks section of our site. If you have any questions, please contact FIPS@facs.org.
Highlights
Update On "ROADS" Revisions
Revisions to "Standards of the Commission on Cancer Volume II: Registry Operations and Data Standards" are nearing completion. The final draft of the manual is expected to be completed by the end of January 2002, and publication is planned for July 2002. In addition to the manual, we're in the process of creating educational programs and registry software development support tools to promote the changes being introduced in this new edition.
Highlights
Tumor Size to be Recorded in Millimeters
Because tumor size documentation has been an unresolved issue for approved cancer programs reporting to state registries, we hope the following change will resolve the issue. Beginning with cases diagnosed 1/1/2002, the size of the primary tumor, except melanomas of the skin, vulva, penis, scrotum and conjunctiva, will be recorded in millimeters. For example, a 4 cm tumor will be reported as 40 mm, and recorded as 040 in the tumor size field, and a 0.8 cm tumor will be reported as 8 mm and recorded as 008. Tenths and hundredths of millimeters will be rounded to the nearest whole millimeter. This change in recording the greatest diameter of the tumor is equivalent to dropping the implied decimal point between the second and third digits in the current tumor size field.
For melanomas of the skin, vulva, penis, scrotum and conjunctiva, the depth of invasion will be coded in HUNDREDTHS of millimeters. For example, a melanoma of 0.84 millimeters in depth will be recorded as 084, and a melanoma of 1.51 mm in depth will be recorded as 151. Any melanoma over 1cm in depth is to be recorded as 990 in the tumor size field, and, if possible, the actual depth of invasion recorded in a text field.
The tumor size for Unknown will continue to be 999. A "ROADS" replacement page will soon be available on our Web site.
Highlights
Surgical Margin Clarifications for Melanoma: Codes 40 and 50
Clarification of codes 40 and 50 for surgical margins for melanoma are provided below. Please add the following notes to page lxxxvi of "ROADS" Appendix D:
40 Wide excision or re-excision of lesion or minor (local) amputation, NOS
Margins of excision are 1 cm or less. Margins may be microscopically involved. Local amputation is the surgical resection of digits, ear, eyelid, lip or nose.
50 Radical excision of a lesion, 1 cm or more, NOS
Margins of excision are greater than 1 cm and grossly tumor free. The margins may be microscopically involved.
Highlights
Correction: Collaborative Stage Representatives
The Commission on Cancer would like to apologize for an error in our October issue. We failed to mention that a representative of the NCRA is also a member of the Collaborative Stage Task Force.
Highlights
To Subscribe to CoC Flash
CoC Flash is e-mailed automatically each month to individuals for whom the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons has an e-mail address. If you wish to continue to receive the newsletter on a monthly basis, you need do nothing. You can discontinue your subscription by writing to coc@facs.org and requesting that your name be deleted from the database. Individuals not currently receiving the newsletter may subscribe to the publication by sending an e-mail message to coc@facs.org and asking to be added to our electronic distribution database.
To Submit Information
CoC Flash will accept submissions received by the monthly deadlines stated below. However, the CoC reserves the right to decide whether or not the materials are appropriate for inclusion. Information for CoC Flash should be timely, news worthy, brief, and of use and interest to the constituents of the Commission, which include cancer registrars, liaison physicians, cancer committee chairs, and other cancer-oriented health care professionals. To submit material, send it to coc@facs.org.
The Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization dedicated to decreasing the morbidity and mortality caused by cancer through prevention, monitoring and reporting of care, standard-setting, and education. CoC Flash is a monthly news service for constituents of the CoC provided by the Commission and the Cancer Department of the American College of Surgeons.
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