EC Cancer Registry Data Collection 5

Question 1

In SEER staging, the category 'Regional' for a solid tumor means the cancer has spread to:

Accepted Answer

Adjacent tissue, regional lymph nodes, or both

Answer

SEER Regional stage indicates the tumor has extended beyond the primary organ to adjacent tissues, regional lymph nodes, or both, but not to distant sites.

Question 2

A cancer registry abstract must document treatment administered within how many months of diagnosis to qualify as 'first course of treatment' under most registry standards?

Accepted Answer

4 months

Answer

Under CoC/STORE standards, first course of treatment generally includes all modalities planned and administered within 4 months of diagnosis unless disease progression alters the plan.

Question 3

Which registry data element captures the microscopic grade or degree of differentiation of a tumor and helps predict prognosis?

Accepted Answer

Grade/differentiation

Answer

Grade/differentiation describes how abnormal tumor cells appear compared to normal cells; well-differentiated (low grade) tumors typically have better prognoses than poorly differentiated (high grade) ones.

Question 4

A patient was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018 and then diagnosed with a new primary lung cancer in 2024. How should the sequence numbers be assigned?

Accepted Answer

Breast = 01, Lung = 02

Answer

Sequence numbers are assigned in chronological order of diagnosis: the first-ever primary receives 01 and each subsequent primary increments, so Breast (2018) = 01 and Lung (2024) = 02.

Question 5

What term describes the process of contacting patients, physicians, or other sources at regular intervals to determine whether a patient is alive or deceased?

Accepted Answer

Active follow-up

Answer

Active follow-up involves periodic direct outreach to patients, physicians, or records to update vital status and disease status, maintaining accurate survival data.

(EC) Electrolysis Certification Practice Test

(EC) Electrolysis Certification Practice Test

EC Cancer Registry Data Collection 5