The
NJSCR is a participant in the Centers for Disease Control's National
Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) and is a National Cancer
Institute SEER Expansion
Registry. The NJSCR has been awarded the North
American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR)
Gold Standard, the highest standard possible, for the quality
of the 1995 through 2003 data, based on completeness of cancer
case ascertainment, completeness of certain information on the
cancer cases, percent of death certificate only cases, passing
an editing program, and timeliness.
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About the New Jersey State Cancer Registry
(NJSCR)
The NJSCR is a population-based registry that collects data on
all cancer cases diagnosed and/or treated in New Jersey since October
1, 1978. The NJSCR serves the entire state of New Jersey, which is estimated
to have a population of 8.6 million people. The NJSCR is a member of
the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and
End Results (SEER) Program. The NJSCR also participates in the National
Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR), which was established by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention in 1992. The NJSCR is a member of
the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR)
and the International Association of Cancer Registries (IACR).
Back to the top of the
list How NJSCR obtains cases
New Jersey regulations require the reporting of all newly diagnosed
cancer cases to the NJSCR within six months of diagnosis. Hospitals,
physicians, ambulatory care facilities, radiation treatment facilities
and private laboratories are required to report cancer cases. Over
the years the legislation has been strengthened to: (1) require electronic
reporting, (2) require abstracting by certified tumor registrars and
(3) impose penalties for late or incomplete cancer reporting. Reporting
agreements also are maintained with bordering states.
Back to the top of the list Why collect cancer cases?
The Registry is an important source of information for health
care providers, public health officials, and administrators. This information
is widely used by clinicians, scientists, and researchers. Data on cancer
patterns in the population can be very useful for preventing and controlling
cancer and improving treatment and patient care. The data are used to
respond to New Jersey residents on cancer issues and concerns. Also,
the incidence rates in New Jersey are shared and compared with other
states and the nation. The data collected by the NJSCR can be useful
for describing cancer patterns in the population, discovering causes
of cancer, planning programs for people affected with cancer, and other
related research.
Early detection programs, such as for cervical, breast,
and colon cancers, use these data to plan screening services. Early
detection is more likely to improve survival. Health care providers
use these data for planning and researchers use these data for
studying ways to increase survival and identify risk factors. The
Registry also facilitates professional education and public education.
Back to the top of the list Reportable types of cancer
All primary invasive and in situ neoplasms are reportable to the NJSCR,
except cervical cancer in situ diagnosed after 1995 and certain carcinomas
of the skin. Benign and borderline intracranial and Central Nervous
System tumors are also collected effective with cases diagnosed on
and after January 1, 2004. Back to the top of the list
What information
is collected by the NJSCR?
The information collected by the NJSCR includes very detailed
information about each cancer case. These data profile each patient including
demographic
and medical information on each cancer diagnosis (such as the anatomic
site, histological type, stage of disease and treatment). All patients
are followed annually and vital status is recorded. For deceased cases,
the underlying cause of death is also included. The primary site, behavior,
grade, and histology of each cancer are coded according to the International
Classification of Disease for Oncology (ICD-O), 3rd edition. The NJSCR
follows the data standards promulgated by the Surveillance, Epidemiology,
and End Results (SEER) program and the North American Association of
Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR).
Back to the top of the list Data quality and completeness
Quality control is an integral part of the NJSCR. We review
and evaluate the quality of our data through edit programs, and re-abstracting
studies. We strive to improve data collection activities
through targeted training programs. NAACCR has awarded the NJSCR the
Gold Standard, the highest standard possible, for the quality of data
since the inception of this award several years ago. The criteria used
to judge the quality of the data are timeliness, completeness of cancer
case ascertainment, completeness of specific information on the cancer
cases, percent of death certificate only cases, percent of duplicate
cases, in addition to passing the data through a stringent edit program.
Completeness of reporting is estimated by comparing New Jersey and
U.S. incidence to mortality ratios for whites, standardized for age,
gender, and cancer site. The data used to generate these ratios are
the cancer incidence rates for all SEER registries combined. Using
these standard formulae, it is possible for the estimation of completeness
to be greater than 100%.
Back to the top of the list Are the cancer data confidential?
All information collected by the NJ Department of Health and Senior
Services are confidential under law. All reports which are issued,
including the reports available on this website, group data together
so that no individual can be identified. If there are less than five
persons in the same group (such as the same age, sex, year of diagnosis
and type of cancer) then the actual number is not revealed. Back to the top of the list |
Cancer Epidemiology Services
