Cancer Programs News: June 11

Is Your Program Ready for CoC Rural Accreditation?

Join us at the 2026 ACS Quality, Safety & Cancer Conference (QSCC), July 30–August 2 in Orlando, Florida, for the session Improving Cancer Care in Rural Communities. Presenters will explore the unique challenges and innovative solutions for delivering high-quality cancer care in rural settings. Attendees will gain an in-depth understanding of the new Commission on Cancer (CoC) rural accreditation category and how it supports programs serving these populations.

Presenters at the Small Projects, Big Impact: Driving Change through Local QI Projects session will discuss how accredited programs can implement impactful quality improvement initiatives from start to finish. Attendees will learn practical approaches to project design and execution, and strategies for sharing results through dissemination, publication, and presentations.

Register now to secure your spot and view the program agenda to start planning your QSCC experience.

Stakeholder Feedback Is Needed on Proposed Revisions

The CoC and the Cancer Surgery Standards Program (CSSP) are requesting feedback on five proposed standards revisions:

• Revised Standard 5.3: Sentinel Node Biopsy for Breast Cancer
• Revised Standard 5.4: Axillary Lymph Node Dissection for Breast Cancer
• Revised Standard 5.6: Colon Resection
• Revised Standard 5.7: Total Mesorectal Excision for Rectal Cancer
• Revised Standard 5.8: Pulmonary Resection

The revisions to the CoC Operative Standards are focused on decreasing administrative challenges through updated synoptic elements and responses that focus the standards more on intraoperative quality improvement. Clarifications were also included in the operative report requirement and scope of standard sections, as necessary, to incorporate frequently asked questions.

The proposed standards, summary of proposed revisions, and public comment survey may be accessed below:

• Proposed Standards
• Summary of Revisions
• Survey

The CoC and CSSP will promote the proposed standards and survey through communications channels  to ensure widespread engagement from the surgical community. CoC- accredited programs are strongly encouraged to share the proposed standards and survey with surgeons who perform breast, colon, and lung cancer operations, pathologists, and any other relevant stakeholders to ensure all affected parties are aware of the changes.

The public comment period ends July 6. The information received during the public comment period will be used to further refine the standards requirements and compliance measures in the proposed standards. The CoC and CSSP are working with the College of American Pathologists Cancer Committee on alignment of standards. It is expected that the revisions will need to be implemented at CoC- accredited cancer programs in January 2028. The CoC and CSSP are working with EHR vendors to integrate the final revisions. An official timeline will be provided once the revisions are finalized.

All questions related to the content of the standards revisions must be submitted through the feedback survey. Questions and feedback provided will not be answered with a direct response, but all feedback will be considered.

NCDB 2024 PUF Data Are Available

The National Cancer Database^® (NCDB^®) has released the 2024 Participant User File (PUF), which provides investigators at CoC-accredited programs access to data from 2004–2024; consult the data dictionary for field definitions and visit the NCDB website for additional PUF resources.

Contact ncdb_puf@facs.org for more information or questions.

Deadline for CoC Research Paper Competition Is June 15

The CoC 2026 Cancer Research Paper Competition for physicians in training is accepting submissions in the categories of clinical research and basic science. The call for submissions has been extended to 5:00 pm CT, Monday, June 15. 

The first-place recipients will be awarded a $1,000 honorarium and an opportunity to present their papers at the CoC’s Plenary Session during the 2026 Clinical Congress, September 26–29 in Washington, DC. Second- and third-place recipients will each receive $500.

More information on eligibility, requirements, and awards is available on the CoC website. Submissions should be sent to mleeb@facs.org.

NAPBC Expands FAQ Guidance on Standard 5.9 Compliance

Updated guidance on how National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) without CoC accreditation will be evaluated for compliance with CoC Standards 5.3 and 5.4 is available. To facilitate decision-making, a link to the revised CoC Operative Standards frequently asked questions document has been added to the standards. This resource provides additional compliance information on Standards 5.3 and 5.4, as well as synoptic reporting and the internal audit process.

The NAPBC Standard 5.9: Surgical Care requires several activities for demonstrating compliance, including compliance with CoC Standard 5.3: Sentinel Node Biopsy for Breast Cancer, and Standard 5.4: Axillary Lymph Node Dissection for Breast Cancer. NAPBC-accredited programs that are also CoC-accredited are evaluated for compliance during their CoC site visit, while NAPBC-accredited programs that are not CoC-accredited are evaluated during their NAPBC site visit.

As a reminder, CoC Standards 5.3 and 5.4 now require an internal audit to confirm at least 80% compliance with the technical and synoptic reporting requirements of these standards. NAPBC programs that are not also accredited by the CoC are required to use templates provided by the CoC to complete the internal audit.

NAPBC-accredited programs that also have CoC accreditation do not need to provide any information related to CoC Standard 5.3 and 5.4 for the NAPBC site visit.

The NAPBC FAQ and the CoC audit templates are available for NAPBC-accredited programs on QPort.

For more information on the required internal audit, please refer to the October 16, 2025, issue of Cancer Programs News and the CoC Self Audit Webinar.

Updated Colorectal Cancer Guidelines Broaden Screening Options

The American Cancer Society has updated its colorectal cancer screening guideline, reflecting the latest science, new cancer screening technologies, and a focus on expanding screening options to lower barriers to access. The goal of this update, published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, is to increase access to multiple screening options, which will help improve participation and ultimately saves lives.

Learn More About Multi-Cancer Detection Testing

Join the next session of the American Cancer Society series Understanding Multi-Cancer Detection Testing ECHO-Cohort 2 at 10 am CT on June 30. This session will focus on how the cancer care team can initiate a diagnostic workup following a positive multi-cancer detection test.

CoC Recognizes Accredited Sites

The ACS CoC recognizes the following cancer sites for demonstrating their commitment to providing high-quality, patient-centered cancer care to patients and the community by recently earning CoC reaccreditation:

AdventHealth New Smyrna Beach
New Smyrna, FL

Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System
Little Rock, AR

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center in the National Capital Region
Bethesda, MD

LewisGale Regional Health System Oncology Network
Pulaski, VA

Mercy Regional Medical Center
Lorain, OH

Methodist Dallas Medical Center
Dallas, TX

NewYork-Presbyterian/Queens
Flushing, NY

Norton Children's Hospital
Louisville, KY

Roper Hospital
Charleston, SC

St. Joseph Regional Medical Center
Lewiston, ID

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX

Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, TN

NAPBC Recognizes Accredited Sites

The ACS NAPBC recognizes the following breast sites for demonstrating their commitment to providing high-quality, patient-centered cancer care to patients and the community by recently earning NAPBC reaccreditation:

The Breast Center at Greenwich Hospital
Greenwich, CT

City of Hope Atlanta-Southeastern Regional Medical Center
Newnan, GA

Comprehensive Breast Health Center, Lahey Hospital & Medical Center
Burlington, MA

Grady's Comprehensive Breast Center
Atlanta, GA

Gwinnett Breast Center
Lawrenceville, GA

Legacy Breast Health Center-Mount Hood
Gresham, OR

Long Beach Memorial Breast Center
Long Beach, CA

Sentara Northern Virginia Breast Center
Woodbridge, VA

St. Mary's Breast Care Center
Grand Junction, CO

University Hospital
Newark, NJ

Mark Your Calendars

July 30–August 2: ACS Quality, Safety & Cancer Conference

September 26–29: ACS Clinical Congress 2026