Online Education Center for Cancer Programs: Promoting Quality Care

Colorectal Cancer Staging: What Registrars Need to Know

(1CE unit)
Presented by April Fritz, RHIT, CTR

Course Overview

This presentation will discuss the revisions to colorectal cancer staging as presented in the AJCC Cancer Staging Manual, Sixth Edition. An extensive review of the guidelines for assigning the T, N, and M is provided, and will be helpful to registrars when abstracting, performing studies, and analyzing data.

Learning Objectives

At the completion of this course, a viewer will:

Understand the rationale behind revisions made to colorectal cancer staging in the AJCC Cancer Staging Manual, Sixth Edition
Comprehend the importance of obtaining good surgical margins around the primary tumor and a sufficient number of regional lymph nodes for pathologic examination
Recognize the role of the pathologist in determining prognostic indicators based on the surgical specimen and a thorough dissection of regional lymph nodes

Intended Audience

This program is intended for cancer registrars or those individuals interested in gaining a better understanding of the AJCC TNM colorectal cancer staging system, as well as those using these data elements for quality and outcome studies.

Online Education Center for Cancer Programs