The Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons requires accredited cancer programs to meet which follow-up standard?

• A. Maintain an 80% follow-up rate for all eligible analytic patients from the cancer registry reference date
• B. 90% follow-up rate must be maintained for all eligible analytic patients diagnosed within the last 5 years, or from the cancer registry reference date, whichever is shorter
• C. Both A and B
• D. None of the above

Answer: (C)

The standard tests data completeness and quality for patient follow-up in a cancer program. It requires two levels of follow-up performance to ensure both long-term and recent data are reliable.

First, there is an 80% follow-up rate goal for all eligible analytic patients from the cancer registry reference date. This sets a baseline expectation for how well a program tracks outcomes across the broader patient population over time.

Second, there is a 90% follow-up rate for eligible analytic patients diagnosed within the last five years, or from the registry reference date, whichever is shorter. This focuses on recently diagnosed patients to ensure current outcomes and survival data are accurately captured.

Together, meeting both criteria demonstrates robust, comprehensive follow-up across both older and newer cases, which is essential for credible survivorship statistics and program performance.

In practice, the “whichever is shorter” clause ensures the requirement is practical based on how far back the registry data extend.