LSU Health Center honored

The Louisiana Tumor Registry, a program of the LSU Health New Orleans School of Public Health, has been recognized as a Registry of Excellence in the National Program of Cancer Registries. One of only 19 registries nationally to achieve this highest honor, the designation was awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which supports 48 cancer registries. The LSU Health New Orleans registry data met all standards for completeness and quality, and the award indicates the high-quality data it makes available for cancer prevention and control activities at the local, regional and national levels. Cancer incidence and mortality data can be used to plan and evaluate cancer control programs, conduct research and monitor cancer trends.

“Each central cancer registry is crucial to the success of cancer surveillance in the United States,” wrote Christie Eheman, PhD, MSHP, Chief of the Cancer Surveillance Branch, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control at the CDC. “Many advances in cancer surveillance in the United States would have been impossible without the tireless efforts and many achievements of these organizations.”

The primary function of a cancer registry is to record the occurrence of cancer in a population. Information collected includes demographics, tumor characteristics, stage of disease at diagnosis, treatment, and survival. Information on risk factors is usually not available from the reporting sources. However, data from the registry often provide clues to be pursued in special research studies conducted by qualified scientists.

“The Louisiana Tumor Registry’s exceptional performance and sustained excellence continue to be recognized by our federal funding agencies as well as the national cancer surveillance programs,” says Dr. Vivien Chen, Professor of Epidemiology and Principal Investigator of the National Program of Cancer Registries grant at LSU Health New Orleans. “This recognition not only demonstrates the dedication of the registry staffs but also the strong support within LSU Health New Orleans leadership to enhance the Louisiana Tumor Registry so that it can be served as a resource for cancer control, research and patient care in Louisiana.”

The LSU Health New Orleans’ Louisiana Tumor Registry is also one of 17 population-based cancer registries in the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) (SEER) Program.

Cancer is a reportable disease in Louisiana. Hospitals, pathology laboratories, radiation centers, physicians, nursing homes, hospices, and as well as other licensed health care facilities and providers who diagnose or treat cancer are required by law to report cancer cases to the LSU Health New Orleans School of Public Health’s Louisiana Tumor Registry.

This article originally published in the June 15, 2015 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.