Reportable List

The criteria for eligible cases in a registry depend upon the governing agencies of the registry. Along with state-specific reportable cases, registries participating in the Approvals Program of the Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) must use the reportable list defined by the CoC.

The CoC requires the cancer registry to collect information on malignancies diagnosed and/or treated at the hospital, except for in-situ malignancies of the cervix and localized basal and squamous cell carcinomas of the skin. The cancer committee is responsible for developing a reportable list that identifies all types of cases to be included in the cancer registry database. The reportable list identifies malignancies with a behavior code (fifth digit) of 2 or 3 as identified in the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, 3rd edition (ICD-O-3).

In addition, the reportable list identifies reportable-by-agreement benign or borderline disease processes not required by the Commission on Cancer or state registries. These benign or borderline cases may be institution or registry-specific and mandated by the institution's cancer committee or governing board. Eligible basal, squamous, and basosquamous cell cancers of the skin should be identified. Ultimately, the reportable list includes malignant cases, reportable-by-agreement and diagnoses to be entered into the cancer registry database. A non-reportable case (diagnoses that should not be included) should also be maintained.

The reportable list should be reviewed annually by the cancer committee or governing agency to determine the addition or deletion of reportable cases. When developing or changing the reportable list, it is important to remember that collecting additional reportable-by-agreement cases may necessitate additional staffing due to increased case load and related activities.