ODS-C case studies
ODS-C · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Oncology Data Specialist (ODS)® credential is awarded by the National Cancer Registrars Association (NCRA) Council on Certification. According to NCRA, it "demonstrates a requisite knowledge and professional competence needed within the cancer registry" and is "nationally recognized in the recruitment and retention of registry personnel." NCRA reports that over 9,000 cancer registry professionals have earned the credential since it was first offered in 1983, and that more than 6,000 active ODS-certified professionals practice worldwide today. The ODS-C case studies are 5 cases and about 4,276 words.
1August Casefinding Reconciliation: Three Borderline Patients
Your 180-bed community hospital is CoC-accredited and accessions roughly 620 analytic cases a year. During an August casefinding reconciliation, your CTR identifies three patients who were never accessioned.
906 words, about 5 min2Two Lung Lesions, an Adrenal Nodule, and an Ambiguous Pathology Line
A 66-year-old man with a 45 pack-year smoking history presents with hemoptysis. CT chest shows a 3.4 cm right upper lobe mass, a 1.2 cm left lower lobe nodule, and a 1.6 cm left adrenal nodule.
845 words, about 4 min3Rectal Cancer Staged Before and After Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation
A 54-year-old man presents with rectal bleeding and a palpable mass 6 cm from the anal verge. Pretreatment MRI pelvis shows a circumferential tumor extending through the muscularis propria with one 9 mm mesorectal node and positive extramural venous invasion; CT chest, abdomen, and pelvis shows no distant disease.
784 words, about 4 min4The Timeliness Audit, Missing Data Items, and Nine Refusal Charts
A three-hospital CoC-accredited program accessions about 1,100 analytic cases a year with four CTRs and two non-credentialed abstractors. The cancer committee's quarterly data quality report shows that only 68% of analytic cases were completed within 120 days of diagnosis against an internal target of 90%, and 21% of records are missing at least one required site-specific data item.
885 words, about 4 min5A County Cluster Claim, a Rate Calculation, and a Survival Request
You are an epidemiologist at a state central cancer registry. A county of 38,000 residents recorded 118 incident lung and bronchus cancer cases during 2019 through 2023.
856 words, about 4 min