There were 2639 cases* accessioned for the 1999 calendar year. The majority, 88%, were analytic** cases. There are over 116,000 cases on the registry database.

Annual follow-up of patients is one of the important functions of the Oncology Registry. Most recent calculations reveal a 96.7% success rate on all cases living and dead. The success rate on living patients is 85.9%. Follow-up provides valid measurement of outcomes.

The Oncology Registry submits data to two national cancer data bases; ACOS Commission on Cancer's (CoC) National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) and National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results data base. Data is submitted to NCI through the State Health Registry of Iowa (SHRI). Iowa State law requires reporting of cancer to the SHRI.

The ACOS CoC sponsored two studies completed by the Oncology Registry. The Quality of Oncology Data Study evaluated the reliability of the NCDB data and focused on identifying opportunities for improvement. The second study was a Patient Care Evaluation Study of Melanoma.

The Oncology Registry Staff would like to extend their appreciation to our former medical director, Dr. Charles E. Riggs Jr. He served from 1992 till Spring of 2000.

Dr. James R. Howe has accepted an appointment as the medical director of the Oncology Registry in the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Howe is an Associate Professor in the Divisions of Surgical Oncology and Endocrine Surgery, Department of Surgery.

* Excludes squamous and basal cell carcinoma of the skin, benign/borderline cases and consults.
** Analytic cases are those cases diagnosed at UI Hospitals and Clinics and/or seen at UI Hospitals and Clinics for all or part of the first course treatment.