NCCR Feature: Highlights of the 2025 NAACCR Annual Conference

By Fernanda Michels | August 11, 2025

The 2025 NAACCR Annual Conference was held in Hartford, CT from June 3-5, 2025. Our theme for this year was, “Honoring the Past, Embracing the Future” as we celebrated the Connecticut Tumor Registry’s 90th anniversary. Two hundred and eighty-eight people attended the conference, and of those, 53 were attending a NAACCR Conference for the first…

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A Practical Guide for Central Registries Updating to a V25B Metafile

By Matthew Mayfield, MS, ODS | August 4, 2025

Abstract The NAACCR V25B metafile brings new standards and logic for cancer data validation. As central registries prepare to implement this version, it is critical to understand the best practices for adopting and customizing the metafile to meet both internal and external needs. This article outlines three primary updates ranging from simple renaming and cleanup…

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Welcome from the incoming NAACCR President, Eric Durbin

By Eric Durbin, DrPH, MS | July 28, 2025

Dear NAACCR members, It is a great honor to serve you and the cancer surveillance community as the incoming NAACCR President. First, heartfelt thanks to our outgoing President, Wendy Aldinger. Through her thoughtful and steady leadership, we have remained true to our mission. I also wish to express my gratitude to NAACCR Executive Director Karen…

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Writing Edits – An Approach for a New Central Registry Edit Writer

By Elaine Collins | December 22, 2025

Introduction Data relationships, electronic formatting, logical viewpoint – all come together in edits to support the collection of useful cancer information. The edits in the standard metafile realize standards that apply to data collected at the national level, but the same edit tools and processes are available to central registries to manage additional local data…

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Sharing NAACCR Pediatric Cancer Initiatives on Dr. Rick Greene’s Cancer Registry World Podcast

By Fernanda Michels | December 15, 2025

I am excited to share that I was recently interviewed by Dr. Rick Greene for his Cancer Registry World podcast. It was a great opportunity to share my path into cancer surveillance and to highlight the pediatric work we are advancing through NAACCR. In the episode, I discussed several initiatives within the National Childhood Cancer…

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The Importance of Professional Certification for Cancer Registrars

By Jim Hofferkamp, BA, CTR | December 8, 2025

Professional certification plays a vital role in strengthening the cancer registry workforce and ensuring the high-quality data that is essential for cancer surveillance, research, and public health planning. For cancer registrars, achieving certification demonstrates a thorough understanding of cancer registry operations, data standards, and coding principles. It reflects an individual’s commitment to excellence and provides…

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OUR MISSION

Actionable content that unites cancer registries.

The Narrative strives to provide you with information you can use to enhance and strengthen your cancer registry. Look to the Narrative for the latest cancer surveillance news, trends, advances in technology, and latest educational opportunities.

OUR VISION

Make every cancer count.

Cancer affects thousands of people across North America every year. Each cancer case must contribute to our knowledge and understanding so that we may reduce the burden of these diseases. Narrative provides a platform for the cancer surveillance community to collaborate and share data that will improve health outcomes.

CANCER REGISTRY SPOTLIGHT: MICHIGAN

Successful Linkage Between Registry Database and LexisNexis

In our ongoing commitment to enhance the quality and accessibility of data, we are thrilled to announce the successful linkage between our registry database and LexisNexis. This integration represents a significant step forward in streamlining our data processes and expanding our analytical capabilities.