MCR MINI-UPDATE
JANUARY 2016
Fellow registrars,
I apologize for the delay in getting this to you. I had it drafted last week and edited by Deb D and Bec, but the flu has had a hold on me for a week and I am just now up to working a bit from home. This strain was apparently not covered by the flu shot. I hope that the flu misses you!
As we look toward 2016, there are many opportunities and challenges.Many of us will be learning to incorporate TNM and SS 2000 codes into our daily registry processes. ICD-10 will become a regular part of our casefinding and death reporting. Some experienced registrars will be opening the retirement chapter of their lives. Younger registrars will grow into leaders. New registrars will continue to be recruited into the profession.Let’s embrace the excitement that all of this brings.
DUE DATES
Large hospitals (>500 cases/yr) are to report June 2015 cases by January 15 and smaller facilities (<300 cases /yr) report the 2nd Quarter of 2015 by January 15, 2016. Mid-year compliance will be tracked according to this submission deadline.
EDUCATION
NAACCR Webinars
LIVE – January 7, 2016, 8-11 AM – Collecting Cancer Data: Bone and Soft Tissue(broadcast to MCR classroom in Columbia)
To register for the live event in Columbia, use this online link:
Click the button that says “Submit and Sign Up”. You do not need to create an account, just fill in the boxes with your name, email, number of registrants (if more than you) and any needed accommodations. That information will not be made public. Then click the “Sign Up Now” button. You can also go back in later and change your reservation. You will get a confirmation email that allows you to put the webinar on your Outlook, Mac or Google calendar.
RECORDED - Get 3 CEs By Viewing Recorded Webinars. Request Access Now! Check out our Education and Training page to find out how you can receive access to the recorded NAACCR Webinars.
GoToMeeting
GoToMeeting presentations will return in 2016. Initial topics include:
February – How to use the Hematopoietic Database and Manual
April – How to use the TNM Manual.
MCR NEWS
Brenda Lee Retirement
It is sad to have our good friend Brenda leaving us, though we wish her great joy in her retirement. She is looking forward being home with her husband and having more time for her photography and their labradoodles. Her last day with us is January 15. I remember meeting her in a St. Louis restaurant the night before we both sat for our CTR exam in 2002. Boy, were we nervous, but look how far we have come! She began her registry career as a hospital registrar. After 3 years there, she moved on to quality assurance work at MCR in 2001, becoming a Senior Data Coordinator several years later. Many of you have benefitted from her patient explanations when you called MCR with issues related to Abstract Plus software. Brenda has a talent for relating to people and has been especially effective recently at maintaining relationships with unit staff as well as non-hospital and rural hospital reporters. She has served you via MoSTRA in many ways as well – as President 2007-2008 and often as board member or committee chair. She served on the NCRA Midwest Region nominating committee. She has made oral and poster presentations at NAACCR, MoSTRA and as part of MCR’s ongoing training programs. She and I travelled together to the Alabama State Cancer Registry in 2011 on a NAACCR Mentor Fellowship. Brenda asked not to have a party, but you may certainly email her your fond memories and good wishes until 1/15/16:
Cause of Death and ICD-10-CM
If your registry software accommodates entry of ICD-10-CM codes for Cause of Death, we would like to get them. Per p. 93 of the MCR Manual, we’ve been collecting ICD-10 when available since 2000. The underlying cause of death may be found on the death certificate or in the medical record. We’re definitely hoping that information has become more available to registrars from 2015 forward, so that we will have fewer entries of 7777 and 7797.
2016 Changes (cont’d from last month’s blast email)
- Registry Plus is telling us that because of some of clinical/pathologic TNM coding format changes for 2016, they will be advising registrars not to abstract 2016 cases until v16 software is installed for registries using Abstract Plus. You might think about how this would impact your processes and contact your vendors to see if this will be an issue for you.
- Sex code terminology for code 3 has been updated: 3 Other (intersex, disorders of sexual development/DSD). The word hermaphrodite formerly classified under this code is an outdated term.
ABSTRACTING TIPS
2015 Abstracting Reminder:
Directly-coded SEER Summary 2000 is required by MCR for all newly diagnosed cases in 2015. This will enable registrars to become familiar with the nuances of SS 2000 as it relates to CS and TNM before the full implementation with directly-coded AJCC staging in 2016 and the phase-out of CS. This timing also will allow MCR to identify any problems or patterns that we may need to address and to provide feedback to abstractors before the new staging requirements are fully implemented.
STANDARD SETTER NEWS
AJCC Staging Critical Clarifications for Registrars – Melanoma
It has come to the attention of the AJCC that there are some misconceptions regarding the staging rules for Melanoma. The AJCC will be clarifying these issues in the 8th Edition Cancer Staging Manual. However, the AJCC recognizes it is critical to provide clarification and explanation on 7th edition staging rules for the registry community as part of the ongoing educational efforts. To ensure that misconceptions do not perpetuate and that any errors in education provided outside of the AJCC are clarified as soon as possible. Therefore, a document with the 7th edition staging rules for both clinical and pathologic classifications for melanoma has been posted:
As other site clarifications are added, they will appear on the AJCC home page:
NPCR-CSS SSDI Web Site Update
The NPCR-CSS SSDI Web site has recently been updated with data generated by the Social Security Administration for the 4th quarter of 2015. To access the SSDI Web site, please go to If you do not have a username and password, please contact for assistance.
COC Standards Update
American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer standards are not part of MCR reporting requirements; however, as a courtesy to facilities that are CoC-accredited, we are letting you know that your standards have been revised for 2016-17. If this applies to you, you might want to look at these links:
Invasive Cancer Incidence and Survival — United States, 2012 (CDC Report)
Approximately 1.5 million new cases of cancer were reported in the United States in 2012 according to national cancer registry data. Prostate, female breast, lung and bronchus, and colon and rectum cancers accounted for half of all cancers diagnosed in 2012. Disparities in cancer incidence still persist, with incidence rates higher among men (483) than women (412), and ranging by state from 371 in New Mexico per 100,000 persons to 515 in the District of Columbia per 100,000 persons. Rates of prostate, lung, and colorectal cancer were lower in 2012 than in 2011; rates may decrease because of changes in risk factors and use of screening tests. About 2 of 3 people diagnosed with cancer survived 5 or more years after diagnosis but there are differences by age, sex, race, and type of cancer. The burden of cancer can be reduced by maximizing efforts to improve adherence to cancer screening recommendations and to promote healthy choices, such as avoiding tobacco, getting enough physical activity, keeping a healthy weight, and limiting alcohol use. Policy, systems, and environmental strategies can help make the healthy choice the easy choice. These data are based on United States Cancer Statistics, the official annual federal government cancer incidence and mortality statistics for the U.S. population and for individual states, available at The full report, “Invasive Cancer Incidence and Survival – United States, 2012,” can be found at:
Cancer Control PLANET New Video Series: Informing the Public about Key Cancer Statistics
Did You Know? Video Series provides 2- to 3-minute informational videos on various cancer topics. The videos communicate key statistical data on different types of cancers to a lay audience in understandable, clear, and concise language. Each video also provides background information on cancer types and risk factors, and encourages action when appropriate. Incidence rates, mortality rates, 5-year relative survival rates, geospatial patterns, and other relevant statistics are highlighted in these videos. The data and information shown in this series comes from SEER,the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, gis.cancer.gov,cancer.gov, and other government sources including CDC. There are currently 16 videos in the Did You Know? Video Series. Some videos focus on specific cancer types such as Leukemiaand Thyroid Cancerwhile others describe overarching topics like Cancer Health Disparities, Cancer Statistics, and Survivorship.
REGISTRY TO RESEARCH
Cancer Rates Are Leveling Off in Western Countries but Increasing Elsewhere (ACS report using IARC data)
Age as an independent prognostic factor for survival of localized synovial sarcoma patients (Netherlands Cancer Registry)
Breast-conserving therapy yielded better outcomes than mastectomy for early-stage patients (Netherlands Cancer Registry)
Racial Differences in Use of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer (NCDB data)
Chemotherapy Use and Healthcare Costs with Genomic Testing in Breast Cancer (Pennsylvania Cancer Registry data)
Time to Surgery and Breast Cancer Survival in the United States (SEER/NCDB data)
Association between the Affordable Care Act Dependent Coverage Expansion and Cervical Cancer Stage and Treatment in Young Women (NCDB data)
Time to Tx Initiation Impacts Survival in Head, Neck Cancer (NCDB data)
Effect of the Recommendation against Screening on Prostate Cancer Diagnoses (NCDB data)
Low-Risk Prostate CA Patients May Not Be Monitored Properly (SEER data)
Socioeconomic Status Partly Explains Disparities in Acute Leukemia Mortality (SEER data)
RESOURCES
ICD-10 for Cancer Registries
Hodgkin Lymphoma: Diagnosis and Treatment
Addressing Cancer Survivorship through Public Health Research, Surveillance, and Programs (12 CDC articles on survivorship)
American Cancer Society Releases New Breast Cancer Guideline
Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation Is Noninferior to Whole Breast Irradiation
Clinicopathologic features of breast cancers that develop in women with previous benign breast disease
Forecasting the path of breast cancer in a patient
Phenotypical and Prognostic Features of Contralateral Breast Cancer
New Brochure Available - Your Jewish Genes: Hereditary Breast Cancer and Ovarian Cancer
Immunologic Approaches to Cancer Prevention
Hematologic Malignancies in Pregnancy: Management Guidelines from an International Consensus Meeting
Predicting the Progression of Smoldering Myeloma to Active Disease
Could a scan someday replace lymph node biopsy?
Imaging test detects aggressive, treatment-resistant cancers
Study uncovers hard-to-detect cancer mutations (Washington University)
FDA Approves Portrazza for Advanced Squamous NSCLC
Happy New Year! Wishing you good health and happiness,
Nancy H. Rold, CTR
Operations Manager, Missouri Cancer Registry and Research Center
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