Last updated: January 2023

Author: Vermont Cancer Registry Program, Vermont Department of Health

Since 2002, the Cancer Registry has been compliant with this CDC National Data Quality Standard. The up and down variation of the curve is not significant. If the <1 per 1,000 standard is met, the data may be used for analysis and publication.

For Vermont Cancer Registry data to be accurate, all information must be collected from various sources, reviewed, and edited. The case reports must be routinely de-duplicated because some cancer patients receive diagnostic or treatment services at more than one reporting facility. Consolidation is known to be one of four activities that require the most staff time in central cancer registries.

Each year, the Cancer Registry performs a special procedure to identify and resolve duplicate case reporting to ensure that each cancer case is counted only once.

Federal funding agreements require the Cancer Registry to have a 1 per 1,000 or fewer unresolved duplicate rate. Any duplicates in the Cancer Registry data would over-report the number of cancers diagnosed among Vermonters. Therefore, a lower number for this duplicate measure indicates higher data quality.

North American Association of Central Cancer Registries

CDC National Program of Cancer Registries

CDC requires the Cancer Registry’s quality assurance program to include data consolidation, which must be performed according to nationally accepted standards.

Monitor productivity for consolidation of multiple case reports per tumor.

As reported in our annual Data Evaluation Report submission to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Program of Cancer Registries Cancer Surveillance System. Prior to the submission of data to NPCR-CSS, each registry performs a protocol developed by the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries for assessing duplicate cases. This information is reported to CDC at the time of the data submission.