CoC Accreditation

The Commission on Cancer (CoC) is a multidisciplinary accreditation program that has developed comprehensive, patient-centered standards for cancer programs. Your cancer program will be evaluated against these standards to demonstrate compliance and your commitment to providing high-quality cancer care.

CoC-accredited programs treat more than 74% of recently diagnosed patients with cancer annually. We encourage your cancer program to become part of this important network of accredited cancer programs dedicated to delivering high-quality cancer care.

Through the CoC, cancer programs will be able to:

Leverage robust reporting and analytic tools through the Rapid Cancer Reporting System (RCRS), to evaluate and compare cancer care delivery at the facility, state, regional, and national levels; identify opportunities for quality improvement; assess performance across multiple disease sites; and run benchmark reports to support quality improvement activities.
Support research and innovation through access to research files that enable investigators to advance the quality of care delivered to patients with cancer.
Educate and train program staff through web-based education and in-person workshops.
Utilize tools and templates to assist in recording and tracking cancer program activities for select standards both between and in preparation for site visits.
Develop program support with the CAnswer Forum online community, where you can ask questions, search topics, and connect with cancer program colleagues across the country.
Gain marketing resources that help promote your accreditation across your community including certificates, posters, banner stands, and digital assets.

Cancer Program Categories

Each CoC program is designated a specific category based on type of facility, program structure, services provided, and the number of cases admitted each year.

Category assignments are made by CoC staff at the time of initial application and are retained unless there are changes to services provided and/or caseload for 3 consecutive years.

Designations are reviewed annually by the CoC. Any adjustments apply at the beginning of the next calendar year, and programs are notified by email of these changes.

Academic Comprehensive Cancer Program (ACAD)

Eligible facilities: Any facility that participates in postgraduate medical education in at least four program areas, including internal medicine and general surgery.
Caseload requirement: More than 500 newly diagnosed cancer cases accessioned each year.

Community Cancer Program (CCP)

Eligible facilities: A facility that offers at least one cancer-related treatment modality, with the full range of diagnostic and treatment services available either directly or by referral.
Caseload requirement: More than 100 but fewer than 500 newly diagnosed cancer cases accessioned each year.

Comprehensive Community Cancer Program (CCCP)

Eligible facilities: A facility that offers at least one cancer-related treatment modality, with the full range of diagnostic and treatment services available either directly or by referral.
Caseload requirement: 500 or more newly diagnosed cancer cases accessioned each year.

Free-Standing Cancer Center Program (FCCP)

Eligible facilities: A non-hospital-based facility that offers at least one cancer-related treatment modality. The full range of diagnostic and treatment services is available by referral.
Caseload requirement: There is no minimum caseload requirement.

Hospital Associate Cancer Program (HACP)

Eligible facilities: A facility with limited range of diagnostic and treatment services onsite with other services available by referral. Clinical research is not required.
Caseload requirement: 100 or fewer newly diagnosed cases accessioned a year.

Integrated Network Cancer Program (INCP)

Eligible facilities: Facilities belonging to an organization that owns a group of facilities that offer integrated and comprehensive cancer care services. These facilities are overseen by a centralized governance structure/board and CEO.
Caseload requirement: There is no minimum caseload requirement.

NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center Program (NCIP)

Eligible facilities: A facility that secures a National Cancer Institute (NCI) peer reviewed Cancer Center Support Grant and is designated a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the NCI. A full range of diagnostic and treatment services and staff physicians are available, with the option of training resident physicians.
Caseload requirement: There is no caseload requirement.

NCI-Designated Network Cancer Program (NCIN)

Eligible facilities: Facilities that belong to an organization that owns a group of facilities that offer integrated and comprehensive cancer care services and is overseen by a centralized governance structure/board and CEO. These facilities must secure an NCI peer-reviewed Cancer Center Support Grant and are designated a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the NCI. All facilities must be included within the NCI grant.
Caseload requirement: There is no caseload requirement.

Pediatric Cancer Program (PCP)

Eligible facilities: A standalone pediatric facility providing care to children and adolescents under the age of 18. A facility that cares only for teens and older is not eligible. These facilities offer the full range of diagnostic and therapeutic services and are required to participate in cancer-related research including enrollment of patients in clinical trials.
Caseload requirement: There is no caseload requirement.

CoC Pediatric Specialty Accreditation (CoC-PS)

Eligible facilities: Pediatric oncology programs within an existing CoC-accredited facility providing care to children and adolescents under the age of 18. A facility that cares only for teens and older is not eligible. These programs offer the full range of diagnostic and therapeutic services separate from adult services. These programs are required to participate in cancer-related clinical research, including enrollment of patients in clinical trials.
An application for an accreditation site visit, separate from the primary CoC site visit, is required for the CoC-PS program.
Caseload requirement: There is no caseload requirement.

Rural Cancer Program (RCP)

Eligible facilities: A facility located in a county with a Rural-Urban Continuum Code of 4 through 9.
Caseload requirement: There is no caseload requirement.

Veterans Affairs Cancer Program (VACP)

Eligible facilities: A facility that provides care to military veterans and offers the full range of diagnostic and treatment services, either onsite or by referral, preferably to CoC-accredited cancer program(s).
Caseload requirement: There is no caseload requirement.

Key Application Information

If your cancer program is submitting an application for a site visit in 2026:

Your program must be able to demonstrate compliance with all of the Optimal Resources for Cancer Care (2020 Standards) in calendar year 2025.
Be prepared to schedule an in-person initial site visit to take place after Janaruy 1, 2026.

The program must have established a cancer registry start date no later than January 1, 2023, in order to provide a complete calendar year of abstracted data from 2023 and a complete year of follow-up data.

Anticipated Site Visit	Standard Compliance Period	Cancer Registry Start Date (no later than)
2026	2025	January 1, 2024
2027	2026	January 1, 2025
2028	2027	January 1, 2026
2029	2028	January 1, 2027

Anticipated Site Visit	Standard Compliance Period	Cancer Registry Start Date (no later than)
2026	2025	January 1, 2024
2027	2026	January 1, 2025
2028	2027	January 1, 2026
2029	2028	January 1, 2027

Pediatric Cancer Care

Cancer programs providing care for pediatric patients may seek CoC accreditation as a Pediatric Cancer Program (PCP) or CoC Pediatric Specialty Accreditation (CoC-PS). More information about the unique characteristics of the pediatric programs is found in the Guidelines for Seeking Accreditation for Pediatric Services. Cancer programs seeking accreditation as a PCP apply through the online application and follow the below guidance for new programs. Cancer program seeking the CoC-PS apply through the CoC-PS Application. In most cases, the CoC-PS site visit must coordinate with the primary CoC site visit, so timing of the application submission should consider the due date of the primary CoC program’s next site visit.

Networks

If you are interested in applying as a new Integrated Network Cancer Program (INCP) or National Cancer Institute-Designated Network Cancer Program (NCIN), please review the Guidelines to Form an INCP/NCIN.

Important Accreditation Process Information

Before Accredited status is granted, corrective action must be completed for any non-compliant standards noted in the accreditation report.
Programs undergoing an initial site review that have five or more non-compliant standards will be rated Not Accredited and will need to reapply for accreditation after 1 calendar year.

New Program Checklist

Applications should not be submitted until the program can demonstrate one calendar year of compliance.

Pre-Submission

Download the Optimal Resources for Cancer Care (2020 Standards) and review the current implementation timelines.
Form a cancer committee and begin documenting compliance.
Idenitfy you cancer registry start date, collect 1 year of data, and conduct 1 year of patient follow-up.
Comply with all applicable standards for 1 calendar year (January 1–December 31).

Submission

Complete the online application.
Verify that your program has a current Business Associate and Data Use Agreement (BA/DUA) agreement with the American College of Surgeons. Programs that currently participate in any of the ACS quality improvement programs do not need to sign another BA/DUA agreement. If your program does not have a BA/DUA with the ACS, please send an e-mail requesting a blank BA/DUA for completion.
Complete the site profile once you receive notification that the application is processed.
Receive an initial accreditation fee invoice after the Site Profile has been completed.
Receive full access to the Quality Portal (QPort) upon receipt of payment, which includes access to the Pre-Review Questionnaire (PRQ) and the ability to submit four preferred dates for the initial site visit. (Please note that when submitting preferred site review dates, the PRQ will need to be submitted no later than 60 prior to the site visit.)
- The PRQ must be submitted through QPort at least 60 days before the confirmed site visit date.

Post-Submission

Receive formal notification of the site visit date.
Undergo a site visit by a CoC-trained Site Reviewer.
Complete the Site Visit Experience Survey within 14 calendar days.
Receive the Accreditation Report, which documents the site visit results, within 45 days of the site visit or as soon as practical thereafter.
Promote your CoC accreditation after achieving Accredited status.
Submit data to the National Cancer Database after achieving Accredited status.

Apply Today

Renewals/Reaccreditation Process (Currently Accredited Programs)

CoC accredited programs are required to undergo a site visit every 3 years to maintain accreditation. More information regarding reaccreditation can be found in the Resources section of the Quality Portal.

Preparation Resources

The following resources can help programs in preparing for the accreditation process

Accreditation with Commission on Cancer