Reporting of Ohio Cancer Incidence Data

In accordance with Ohio law, sections 3701.262 and 3701.263 of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC), and Ohio rule, sections 3701-4-01 and 3701-4-02 of the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC), each physician, dentist, hospital or person providing diagnostic or treatment services to patients with cancer shall report each case of cancer to the Ohio Cancer Incidence Surveillance System (OCISS) at the Ohio Department of Health (ODH).  Each cancer case must be reported to the OCISS within six months of date of diagnosis and/or first contact with the facility.  The OCISS urges facilities to report cancer cases monthly.  Cancer cases may be reported through a registry in a hospital or other medical facility or by a contracted cancer registrar.  It is the responsibility of the provider to be sure that cases are reported under penalty of law, ORC section 3701.99.  

A reportable case is defined as: any primary malignant neoplasm, with the exception of basal and squamous cell carcinoma of the skin and carcinoma in-situ of the cervix, diagnosed and/or treated in any person in Ohio on or after Jan. 1, 1992, as well as cases of benign and borderline intracranial and central nervous system (CNS) tumors diagnosed on or after Jan. 1, 2004.  

The data elements required by the OCISS include patient demographic characteristics, information necessary to compute incidence and information on treatment and staging.  These required elements are marked with an asterisk (*) on the OCISS Individual Cancer Case Reporting Form, in Section 4 of the OCISS Reporting Source Procedure Manual.

Reporting Materials and Aids available to Cancer Registrars 

OCISS Reporting Source Procedure Manual, Version 6:
Section 1:  Cover, OCISS mission statement, table of contents, guidelines for reporting and descriptions of fields 1-45;
Section 2:  Descriptions of fields 46-121;
Section 3:  Appendix 1: ORC sections 3701.261-3701.264 and 3701.99 and OAC chapter 3701-4; Appendix 2: SEER's "How to Use Ambiguous Terminology Terminology;" Appendix 3: "OCISS Data Items Collected on Cases Diagnosed and/or Treated 1/1/2008 and After" and Appendix 4: "Items that are Part of NAACCR Record Layout and Stored in OCISS Central Registry Database but are NOT CODED by Reporting Source;"
Section 4:  Appendix 5: Individual Cancer Case Reporting Form and Appendix 6: Cancer Case Transmittal Form and
Section 5:  Appendix 7: Web address, http://seer.cancer.gov/tools/codingmanuals/, for SEER Appendix B: "Geocodes for Coding Place of Birth and Place of Death;" Appendix 8: NAACCR Appendix G: "Recommended Abbreviations for Abstractors" and Appendix 9: FORDS Appendix B: "Site-Specific Surgery Codes."

Reference Materials:  Publications needed to report accurate, complete and timely cancer data to the OCISS;

Certified Tumor Registrars (CTRs) Available for Contract - January 2008:  A listing, updated semiannually, of CTRs throughout Ohio who are available to contract with care facilities to provide cancer case reporting assistance and

OCISS Registrar Regions:  A map of Ohio with counties and legend colored/shaded to indicate each OCISS registrar's region with registrar's name and telephone number.

For further information or assistance, contact the OCISS at:
Mailing Address:
Ohio Department of Health
Ohio Cancer Incidence Surveillance System (OCISS)
246 North High Street
Columbus, OH  43215

Telephone:  (614) 752-2689
Fax:  (614) 644-1909
E-mail:  OCISS@odh.ohio.gov

Last Updated:  04/25/08

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