EC Cancer Registry Data Collection 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under HIPAA, cancer registries may report data to public health authorities (including state cancer registries) without patient authorization because such reporting is classified as:
- Marketing activity
- Public health activity (Correct answer)
- Research with waiver
- Treatment purpose
Correct answer: Public health activity
HIPAA permits disclosure of PHI to public health authorities for disease surveillance and reporting without individual authorization under the public health activity exception.
Question 2: Which follow-up method is considered the most efficient for updating vital status in large cancer registry databases?
- Mailing letters to patients annually
- Telephone calls to patients
- Linkage with death certificate files or NDI (Correct answer)
- Contacting the treating physician's office
Correct answer: Linkage with death certificate files or NDI
Linkage with the National Death Index (NDI) or state death certificate files allows bulk vital status updates far more efficiently than individual outreach.
Question 3: A cancer registry receives a pathology report indicating 'carcinoma in situ of the cervix uteri.' What ICD-O-3 behavior code applies?
- /0
- /1
- /2 (Correct answer)
- /3
Correct answer: /2
Behavior code /2 in ICD-O-3 denotes carcinoma in situ — a non-invasive malignancy confined to the epithelium without invasion.
Question 4: What is the primary purpose of the NAACCR data exchange standard in cancer registry operations?
- To establish billing codes for oncology services
- To provide a uniform record layout for electronic data transmission between registries (Correct answer)
- To define quality thresholds for cancer program accreditation
- To specify follow-up intervals for different cancer types
Correct answer: To provide a uniform record layout for electronic data transmission between registries
The NAACCR (North American Association of Central Cancer Registries) standard defines a uniform flat-file record layout enabling consistent electronic data exchange among central and hospital registries.
Question 5: When two separate primary tumors arise in the same organ at the same time, the registry ruleset used to determine whether they are counted as one case or two is found in which reference?
- AJCC Cancer Staging Manual
- SEER Multiple Primary and Histology Coding Rules (Correct answer)
- ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines
- STORE Manual Appendix C
Correct answer: SEER Multiple Primary and Histology Coding Rules
The SEER Multiple Primary and Histology (MP/H) Coding Rules provide the standardized logic for determining when simultaneous tumors in the same site constitute one or multiple primary cases.
Question 6: Which data item records the specific geographic location of the original tumor within the organ?
- Topography code (Correct answer)
- Grade/differentiation
- Laterality
- Histology code
Correct answer: Topography code
The topography code (from ICD-O-3) specifies the site — including the subsite within the organ — where the primary tumor originated.
Question 7: A registry quality control coordinator finds that 8% of abstracted cases have an incorrect primary site code. This metric is best described as a measure of:
- Completeness
- Timeliness
- Accuracy (Correct answer)
- Accessibility
Correct answer: Accuracy
Accuracy (or validity) measures how correctly data elements are coded compared to the source document; an error rate in coded fields directly reflects data accuracy.
EC Cancer Registry Data Collection 3
Under HIPAA, cancer registries may report data to public health authorities (including state cancer registries) without patient authorization because such reporting is classified as: