Vital status is grouped under which abstracting section?

• A. Patient Identification
• B. Outcomes
• C. Stage of Disease at Diagnosis
• D. First Course of Treatment

Answer: (B)

Vital status is about whether the patient is alive or deceased at last contact, and it may include the date of death. This information falls under Outcomes because outcomes describe what happened to the patient after diagnosis, including survival and mortality. It isn’t about patient identity, the cancer’s stage at diagnosis, or the initial treatment given. Tracking vital status enables survival analyses, such as estimating overall survival and mortality rates, which is why it belongs with outcomes.