Information for Registrars
Cancer is designated as a reportable disease in the state of Utah (Cancer Reporting Rule, R384-100).
Cancer registrars perform a critical function for Utah Cancer Registry in reporting cancer case information. We depend on the information submitted by registrars to be timely and high quality which enables us to consolidate cancer case data from multiple facilities and providers, and report to national standard setters. This page provides information and resources to support registrars in providing those data to Utah Cancer Registry.
Utah Cancer Registry has implemented a web based communication tool for requests and questions from hospital-based registrars. Please use this form to submit registry related questions to Utah Cancer Registry which will be answered by Utah Cancer Registry Oncology Data Specialists (ODS).
A selection of helpful coding tips from our Q-Tips newsletter have been aggregated on our Monthly Quality Tips page. To be added to our listserv for direct receipt of these tips in your email inbox, please contact us.
Utah Cancer Registry participates in the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program, in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR), and is a member of the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR). Utah Cancer Registry must follow SEER, NPCR, and NAACCR requirements for reportable cases and data collection. Facilities, registrars, and vendors are encouraged to refer to the official data standards of SEER, NPCR, and NAACCR to ensure complete compliance.
To ensure completeness and accuracy of the required data items, Utah Cancer Registry applies the latest version of data edits applicable to SEER and NPCR required variables on cases submitted to Utah Cancer Registry. Submitted abstracts must pass all edits in our state metafile’s Utah Cancer Registry edit sets before being accepted by us.
1. UCR approved edit metafiles:
2. NAACCR references
A summary of information about which conditions are reportable is available on the Reportable Conditions page. For detailed reportability requirements, refer to the SEER Program Coding and Staging Manual. To access historical versions of staging and coding manuals for prior diagnosis years, please visit the SEER website.
ICD-10-CM casefinding lists should be used to screen prospective cases and identify cancer cases for inclusion in the registry.
Utah Cancer Registry collects SEER and NPCR reportable data items.
An abstract is required in the following situations:
- Patient seen at the reporting facility for diagnosis of cancer
- Patient admitted to the reporting facility for staging work-up
- Patient seen at the reporting facility for cancer directed treatment (any course of treatment).
Examples:
Example 1: Patient admitted to reporting facility after being diagnosed elsewhere with breast cancer. Patient received cancer directed radiation treatment at reporting facility. Report to UCR.
Example 2: Patient admitted to reporting facility for breast biopsy and pathology shows ductal adenocarcinoma. Patient was diagnosed at reporting facility but never returns for further workup or treatment. Report to UCR.
Example 3: Patient recently diagnosed elsewhere by reportable scan, then admitted to reporting facility for a biopsy (of primary or metastatic site) to confirm the prior diagnosis. Report to UCR.
Timing:
Reportable cases are due to Utah Cancer Registry within six months of the date of diagnosis or date first seen for the reportable condition. Please refer to Utah State Cancer Reporting Rule.
- Initial hospital case reports containing patient identifiers and should be submitted within six months of diagnosis
- Complete hospital case reports including the full coding and staging information as well as full first course of treatment should be submitted no later than one year after the end of diagnosing year
An abstract is not required in the following situations:
- Patients seen only in consultation to provide a second opinion or to confirm treatment plan
- Patients with a ‘history of’ cancer only, not initially diagnosed at reporting facility and are not receiving cancer directed treatment at reporting facility
- Patients admitted with active disease, not initially diagnosed, no part of initial workup at reporting facility, and are not receiving cancer directed treatment at the reporting facility
Examples:
Example 1: Patient admitted to reporting facility for gallstone removal, chart mentions history of prostate cancer. Do not report to UCR as abstract.
Example 2: Patient admitted to reporting facility for a consult of a recently diagnosed breast cancer, no diagnostic/staging workup or treatment at reporting facility. Do not report to UCR as abstract.
For patients who are admitted with ONLY a ‘history’ of cancer, do not submit abstracts for these patients. Please submit a listing of these patients to Utah Cancer Registry.
- This includes patients with a past history of cancer and patients with active disease who were not diagnosed, initially staged, or treated at the reporting facility.
- If the cancer was previously abstracted and reported from your facility, it is not necessary to include the patient/cancer on the list.
Please refer to the linked template for specific data items to include in the ‘history of’ list.
Hospital facilities shall submit annual follow-up to Utah Cancer Registry within 13 months of the date the patient was last contacted by facility personnel. Please refer to section R384-100-2 #9 in Utah State Cancer Reporting Rule.
- National Cancer Registrars Association (NCRA)
- National Cancer Institute SEER Program (SEER)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR)
- North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR)
- NAACCR Data Dictionary
- SEER Program Coding & Staging Manuals
- SEER*RSA (Registrar Staging Assistant) site-specific schemas
- Solid Tumor Rules
- Extent of Disease (EOD) Guidelines
- NAACCR Site-Specific Data Items (SSDI) and Grade Manuals
- Summary Stage Guidelines
- SEER Hematopoietic and Lymphoid Neoplasm Manual and Database
- ICD-0-3 Guidelines
- SEER*Rx Interactive Antineoplastic Drugs Database
- SEER Inquiry System - searchable collection of questions from cancer registrars
- SEER Glossary for Registrars
- SEER COVID-19 Abstraction Guidance (diagnosis years 2020-2022 only)
Additional Resources
UCR Inquiry Form
Reportable ICD-10-CM Lists
Previous Metafile Versions