State cancer registries: status of authorizing legislation and enabling regulations--United States, October 1993

Population-based cancer registries have identified cancer incidence rates indicating that the burden of cancer in the United States is substantial and varies widely by geographic location and ethnicity. However, for most existing state cancer registries, resources are inadequate for insuring minimum standards for quality and for completeness of case information. In October 1992, Congress enacted the Cancer Registries Amendment Act* that authorized CDC to establish a national program in support of cancer registries. The goal of this program is to enhance existing state cancer registries and to help establish statewide cancer registries so that all states have population-based cancer registries meeting minimum standards for completeness, timeliness, and quality. To ensure complete and timely reporting of newly diagnosed cases of cancer, the federal statute requires authorization of cancer registries under state-specific laws and promulgation of regulations that ensure case reporting and use of data for research. This report extends efforts by the National Cancer Institute to assess existing state laws and regulations to determine how they compare to state-specific legislation required in the cancer registries act.