ODS-C flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Reportable case definition

A newly diagnosed malignant neoplasm (behavior /3) in a resident of the registry's catchment area, plus in-situ or borderline tumors only for sites the standard requires.

Class of case

A code classifying whether the tumor was diagnosed and/or received first course of treatment at the reporting facility. Analytic cases are used for survival and treatment analyses.

Date of diagnosis hierarchy

Use the earliest date of microscopic confirmation; if none, the earliest date of clinical diagnosis from imaging, exam, or physician statement. Never use treatment or accession date.

ICD-O-3 morphology code

A four-digit histology number plus a one-digit behavior digit (e.g., /3 malignant, /2 in situ, /1 borderline). Grade is captured in a separate field.

Multiple primary rules

Site-specific solid tumor rules determine whether a new tumor counts as a separate primary, based on histology, site, laterality, and timing. Blood cancers use separate rules.

Active follow-up

Annual contact to capture vital status, date of last contact, recurrence, and subsequent treatment. Death certificate clearance and national death index linkage reduce losses.

Casefinding audit

Re-reviewing pathology logs, radiation logs, and discharge lists against registry accession files to find missed reportable cases and estimate the miss rate.

Accession number

A unique identifier assigned by the reporting facility to each patient or tumor record, used to link abstracts, follow-up, and submissions across systems.

AJCC TNM components

T describes primary tumor size or invasion, N describes regional lymph node involvement, and M describes distant metastasis. Together they define the anatomic stage group.

Clinical versus pathologic stage

Clinical stage (prefix c) uses imaging, exam, and biopsy before treatment. Pathologic stage (prefix p) requires resection of the primary to assess the highest T and N.

Summary Stage categories

SEER Summary Stage classifies extent as in situ, localized, regional (direct extension, nodes, or both), distant, or unknown, independent of TNM edition.

First course of treatment

All treatment intended to modify the tumor, delivered within the defined window (generally 12 months or until progression or recurrence, whichever comes first).

Gleason grade group

A prostate cancer grading system combining Gleason patterns into groups 1 through 5, where higher groups indicate progressively poorer differentiation and worse prognosis.

Neoadjuvant therapy staging prefix

The y prefix denotes stage assigned after neoadjuvant therapy, such as chemotherapy or radiation given before surgery, and is recorded separately from the pretreatment clinical stage.

Biomarker data items

Required tumor markers such as ER, PR, and HER2 for breast cancer, or KRAS and EGFR for lung and colorectal cancer, that guide therapy and stratified reporting.

Diagnostic versus definitive surgery

Diagnostic procedures establish diagnosis, such as biopsy. Definitive surgery removes the primary tumor with intent to cure and is coded separately in first-course treatment.

NAACCR data standards

Versioned specifications defining required data items, code sets, edits, and submission formats for each diagnosis year, used by central and hospital registries.

Commission on Cancer accreditation

A program that sets standards for hospital cancer programs covering registry operations, quality improvement, and multidisciplinary care, verified through surveys.

Interfield edit

A consistency check comparing two or more fields, such as a male patient coded with a cervical primary site, which must be resolved before submission.

Reabstracting audit

A quality method in which a sample of previously abstracted records is independently re-coded and compared, producing a disagreement rate for accuracy monitoring.

Completeness measure

The estimated percentage of reportable cases actually captured, often calculated by comparing registry counts with independent casefinding sources and adjusting for missed cases.

Timeliness standard

A requirement that reportable cases be abstracted and submitted within a defined interval after diagnosis, measured as the proportion meeting the deadline.

Registry confidentiality

Registry data are protected under state law and HIPAA. Identified data released for research require IRB approval and a data-use agreement.

Diagnosis-year standard version

The set of ICD-O-3 updates, staging edition, and required data items that apply to a given diagnosis year. Using the wrong version is an audit finding.

Incidence rate formula

New cases in a period divided by the population at risk, multiplied by 100,000. The denominator must match the case definition, such as sex-specific populations.

Age-adjusted rate

A direct-standardized rate applying a standard population's age-specific weights to the study population, allowing comparison across populations with different age structures.

Relative survival

Observed survival divided by the expected survival of a matched general population. It estimates excess mortality attributable to cancer without needing cause of death.

Crude versus adjusted rate

Crude rate reflects actual observed burden in the population. Age-adjusted rate removes the effect of age structure and is preferred for comparisons across regions or time.

Small numbers suppression

A rule withholding counts or rates below a threshold, often fewer than 16 cases, to protect confidentiality and avoid unstable, misleading statistical estimates.

Prevalence

The number of people alive with a history of cancer at a point in time. It depends on incidence, survival, and time since diagnosis, not incidence alone.

Stage distribution analysis

A descriptive tabulation of cases by stage at diagnosis, used to monitor early detection. Comparisons require attention to staging edition and small case counts.

Reporting lag

The interval between diagnosis and publication of registry statistics, caused by reporting deadlines, consolidation, and follow-up. Trend interpretation must account for it.