Acronyms for Organizations

Acronym	Organization
AFIP	Armed Forces Institute of Pathology: The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) is a tri-service agency of the Department of Defense specializing in pathology consultation, education and research.
CDC	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recognized as the lead federal agency for protecting the health and safety of people - at home and abroad, providing credible information to enhance health decisions, and promoting health through strong partnerships.
NCCN	National Comprehensive Cancer Network: a not-for-profit alliance of 28 leading cancer centers devoted to patient care, research, and education. NCCN is dedicated to improving and facilitating quality, effective, efficient, and accessible cancer care so patients can live better lives. Through the leadership and expertise of clinical professionals at NCCN Member Institutions, NCCN develops resources that present valuable information to the numerous stakeholders in the health care delivery system. By defining and advancing high-quality cancer care, NCCN promotes the importance of continuous quality improvement and recognizes the significance of creating clinical practice guidelines appropriate for use by patients, clinicians, and other health care decision-makers around the world.
NCI	National Cancer Institute: One of the National Institutes of Health in the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, that was established as a center for cancer research. The NCI has also assumed a leading role in Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) research since the disease was first recognized in 1981.
NPCR	National Program of Cancer Registries: The CDC's National Program of Cancer Registries supports cancer registration and surveillance in 45 states, 3 territories, and the District of Columbia.
NCHS	National Center for Health Statistics: NCHS is the Federal Government's principal vital and health statistics agency. Since 1960, when the National Office of Vital Statistics and the National Health Survey merged to form NCHS, the agency has provided a wide variety of data with which to monitor the Nation's health.
SEER	Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results: SEER collects incidence and follow-up data in ten areas in the United States for the purpose of identifying and monitoring trends in cancer incidence and survival.

National

Acronym	Organization
NAACCR	North American Association of Central Cancer Registries: A professional society whose members are, for the most part, from population-based registries and are interested in the development and application of cancer registration and morbidity survey techniques to studies of defined population groups and to the conduct of cancer control programs.
AACR	American Association of Cancer Research: An organization dedicated to cancer research with probably the largest research fleeting in the country. It also publishes information on all basic cancer research.
ACCC	Association of Community Cancer Centers: An organization of comprehensive hospitals and cancer centers with an interest in community activities. Members are concerned about the how and why of cancer program development, the impact of prospective payment, capitation, and competition, and the establishment and maintenance of high standards of quality patient care.
ACOA	American College of Oncology Administrators: A professional health care organization for oncology, administrators, managers, and consultants of cancer programs and services. It is a chapter of the American Academy of Medical Administrators.
ACOS	American College of Surgeons: A professional medical association to improve the quality of care for surgical patients by elevating the standards of surgical education and practice.
ACS	American Cancer Society: A private cancer research organization which supports, through grants, investigator-initiated projects in established medical and other scientific institutions across the country.
AHIMA	American Health Information Management Association: A group of credentialed professionals, mainly Health Information Administrator (HIA) and Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT), who collect and analyze a wide range of health information.
AJCC	American Joint Committee on Cancer: Organized in 1959 for the purpose of clinical staging, the AJCC decided to use the TNM system of the UICC to develop its own system of clinical and pathologic staging. Cooperation between 1982-87 has resulted in uniform and identical definitions and stage groupings of cancer for all sites between UICC and AJCC.
AMA	American Medical Association: A professional organization of practicing physicians It also provides coordination and direction for allied health education to establish and maintain appropriate standards of patient care through its accreditation of allied medical education programs.
ASCO	American Society of Clinical Oncology: A society of oncologists, primarily medical, for the dissemination and exchange of cancer information.
NCORP	NCI Community Oncology Research Program: A cooperative agreement supported program which provides support to community-based oncologists to participate in clinical trials sponsored by the clinical cooperative groups and/or cancer centers.
CAP	The College of American Pathologists (CAP), the leading organization of board-certified pathologists, serves patients, pathologists, and the public by fostering and advocating excellence in the practice of pathology and laboratory medicine worldwide.
COC	Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons: Representing 28 national professional organizations, the Commission seeks multidisciplinary cooperation in cancer management. It establishes standards for approval of cancer programs, stimulates cancer programs in institutions and communities, develops nationwide patient care evaluation studies of specific organ sites and types of malignancy as well as symposia and postgraduate courses on cancer for physicians.
JCAHCO	Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (Formerly Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals): Provides standards for accreditation of health care organizations and conducts surveys to determine an organization's degree of compliance and provides acceptable ways to bring the organization into compliance.
NCRA	National Cancer Registrars Association: A professional organization to promote the level of knowledge and performance of tumor registrars through educational standards and continuing education as well as to improve and standardize the compiling of tumor registry information.
SSO	Society of Surgical Oncology: A society of surgical oncologists for the dissemination and exchange of cancer information.

Updated: December 28, 2023