Which organization provides hospital-based registries with data standards and coding instruction in the form of the facility oncology registry data standards manual?

Which organization provides hospital-based registries with data standards and coding instruction in the form of the facility oncology registry data standards manual?

• A. American College of Surgeons
• B. Commission on Cancer
• C. North American Association of Central Cancer Registries
• D. Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results

Answer: (B)

The hospital-based cancer registry standards and coding guidance come from the Commission on Cancer, which is a program within the American College of Surgeons. It publishes the Facility Oncology Registry Data Standards (FORDS) manual, a comprehensive guide outlining the data elements, coding instructions, and reporting requirements that registries must follow. This standardization enables consistent data collection across hospitals and supports accreditation, quality reporting, and comparability of cancer statistics. Other organizations set standards in their own contexts—such as NAACCR and SEER—but the FORDS manual itself is specifically produced by the Commission on Cancer to guide hospital registries.

The hospital-based cancer registry standards and coding guidance come from the Commission on Cancer, which is a program within the American College of Surgeons. It publishes the Facility Oncology Registry Data Standards (FORDS) manual, a comprehensive guide outlining the data elements, coding instructions, and reporting requirements that registries must follow. This standardization enables consistent data collection across hospitals and supports accreditation, quality reporting, and comparability of cancer statistics.

Other organizations set standards in their own contexts—such as NAACCR and SEER—but the FORDS manual itself is specifically produced by the Commission on Cancer to guide hospital registries.