Location

825 North Capitol Street, NE
3rd Floor
Washington, DC 20002
Telephone: (202) 442-5905
Email: cancer_registry@dc.gov

Mission

The mission of the DC Cancer Registry is to bring about a reduction in the cancer rates of District residents through: (1) effective cancer surveillance and epidemiological evaluations, (2) the formulation and presentation of sound epidemiological data for the promotion of effective public education and awareness programs regarding early detection and preventive health measures, (3) the provision of analytical cancer data for implementing targeted cancer screening initiatives in the at-risk, non-insured segments of the District, and (4) conduct of epidemiological research for understanding the etiology, spatial and temporal trends in the levels of cancer among District residents.

Program Description

The DC Cancer Registry is a mandated program (per DC Law 6-83, Preventive Health Services Amendment Act of 1985; DC Law 8-57, Preventive Services Amendment Act of 1990; and DC Law) which requires the reporting of cancer diagnosis and/or treatment to the Director of the Health Department. In order to capture all occurrences of cancer among DC residents, the Department of Health has also entered into reciprocal exchange agreements with its neighboring States for cancer records on residents seeking cancer care in out of State health care facilities. In the more recent past, the DC Cancer Registry has also become part of the National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) which is governed by Federal Public Law 102-515.

Since cancer is the second leading cause of death among District residents (22% of all deaths are due to cancer alone), the effectiveness of cancer control and prevention efforts such as for breast, cervical and prostate cancer must employ reliable data-driven strategies to improve the health status of residents of the District.

The Cancer Registry is one of the Department’s most successful surveillance programs. Data gathered are subjected to the stringent protocols of completeness, accuracy and timeliness. Since 1997, the District’s cancer data have been closely reviewed by the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR), and certified to be of the highest quality (GOLD Certification) in each of the diagnosis years 1997-1999.

DCCR tracks all types of malignant cancers and publishes annual reports on the incidence and mortality of cancer in the District. Academic medical centers, researchers, public health and advocacy agencies (such as the American Cancer Society, D.C. Hospital Association) and interested lay persons rely heavily on the reports. Nearly 75% of the Registry’s annual operating budget is provide by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through the National Program of Cancer Registries Cooperative Agreement Grant.

Core Functions

1. Carrying out the District’s mandate for compiling all malignant cancer diagnoses among residents no matter where health-care is sought.
2. Performing sound epidemiological studies to understand the etiology of cancer in the District.
3. Assisting in designing and implementing cancer control and prevention initiatives to reduce the high rates of cancer mortality among District residents by focusing on treatable or preventable cancers such as breast and cervical, lung, prostate, and colorectal malignancy.

Goals

The goals of the DC Cancer Registry include:

1. To produce a complete, accurate and timely cancer database on DC residents, and analyze and distribute the findings to the community, researchers, intervention strategists and policy makers in the District of Columbia.
2. To circulate published reports among individuals and organizations at the local and national levels.
3. To contact all federal and non-federal health-care providers operating in the District of Columbia, and neighboring States and out-of-state registries for cancer information on District residents diagnosed and/or treated elsewhere.
4. To ensure that the completeness, quality and timeliness of data gathered by the DC Cancer Registry meets National standards.
5. To monitor the levels and trends in cancer incidence and mortality among DC residents.