CTR Reporting Requirements & Standards 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under SEER program requirements, which tumors are reportable even when histology is not confirmed by biopsy?
- Only carcinomas with imaging confirmation
- Clinical diagnoses made by a physician are reportable (Correct answer)
- Tumors must always have pathologic confirmation to be reportable
- Only tumors staged as IV are reportable without biopsy
Correct answer: Clinical diagnoses made by a physician are reportable
SEER and most central registries accept physician clinical diagnoses as reportable even without tissue confirmation.
Question 2: Which standard-setter publishes the rules that define the 'casefinding' process used by hospital cancer registries accredited by the American College of Surgeons?
- SEER
- NAACCR
- CoC (Commission on Cancer) (Correct answer)
- CDC NPCR
Correct answer: CoC (Commission on Cancer)
The Commission on Cancer (CoC) sets casefinding standards for accredited hospital cancer registries through its STORE manual.
Question 3: A patient is diagnosed with a borderline ovarian tumor. Under current SEER reportability rules, this case is:
- Not reportable because it is benign
- Reportable as a malignant neoplasm (Correct answer)
- Reportable only if it recurs as invasive cancer
- Reportable only if the patient is under age 50
Correct answer: Reportable as a malignant neoplasm
Borderline ovarian tumors (behavior code /1 per ICD-O-3) are reportable to SEER because the ovary is a site where borderline tumors are collected.
Question 4: The NAACCR data exchange standard defines how cancer registry data are formatted for interstate transmission. What is the primary file format used?
- XML document
- Fixed-length flat file (Correct answer)
- JSON object
- Comma-separated values (CSV)
Correct answer: Fixed-length flat file
NAACCR uses a fixed-length flat file format where each data item occupies defined character positions within each record.
Question 5: A patient receives a diagnosis of carcinoma in situ of the cervix (CIN III). Under most state and central registry rules, this case is:
- Reportable as an invasive cancer
- Not reportable because it is in situ (Correct answer)
- Reportable as a non-malignant tumor
- Reportable only if the patient subsequently develops invasive cancer
Correct answer: Not reportable because it is in situ
Carcinoma in situ of the cervix (CIN III) is generally excluded from central cancer registry reporting because it is not invasive cancer.
Question 6: When a hospital cancer registry submits data to the state central registry, which organization's standards govern the required data items and their coding?
- Only SEER standards apply
- Only CoC standards apply
- NAACCR standards, which integrate CoC and SEER requirements (Correct answer)
- Each hospital sets its own submission standards
Correct answer: NAACCR standards, which integrate CoC and SEER requirements
NAACCR standards serve as the umbrella framework that harmonizes CoC, SEER, and NPCR data items for state reporting.
Question 7: Which of the following is NOT a required component of the CoC's casefinding audit?
- Review of pathology reports
- Review of radiation therapy logs
- Review of social worker notes (Correct answer)
- Review of surgical logs
Correct answer: Review of social worker notes
Social worker notes are not a standard casefinding source; pathology, surgery, and radiation logs are reviewed to identify missed cases.
CTR Reporting Requirements & Standards 2
Under SEER program requirements, which tumors are reportable even when histology is not confirmed by biopsy?