Att G

Board of Directors
Susan T. Gershman, PhD, CTR
President
Maria J. Schymura, PhD
President-elect
Karen Knight, MS
Treasurer
Lori Swain, BA, MS
Sponsoring Member
Representative

Representatives-at-Large
Susan Bolick-Aldrich, MSPH, CTR
Glenn Copeland, MBA
Maureen MacIntyre, BSN, MHSA
Howard J. Martin, PhD

Christie Eheman, MS, PhD
Chief, Cancer Surveillance Branch
Division of Cancer Prevention and Control
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
4770 Buford Highway, MS-K53
Atlanta, Georgia 30341-3717
April 6, 2009
Dear Dr. Eheman:
The North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, Inc.
(NAACCR, Inc.) would like to express its resolute support for the
proposed CDC-NPCR Workload Management Study. As you know,
NAACCR is a professional association representing all population
based cancer registries in the United States and Canada. NAACCR
develops and promotes uniform data standards for cancer registration;
provides education and training; certifies population-based registries;
aggregates and publishes data from central cancer registries; and
promotes the use of cancer surveillance data and systems for cancer
control and epidemiologic research, public health programs, and patient
care to reduce the burden of cancer in North America.

Frances E. Ross, CTR
Xiaocheng Wu, MD, MPH, CTR

Executive Director
Betsy A. Kohler, MPH, CTR

Executive Office
2121 W. White Oaks Drive, Suite B
Springfield, IL 62704-7412
Tel (217) 698-0800
Fax (217) 698-0188
info@naaccr.org
www.naaccr.org

While each state and province has a population-based cancer registry, to
our knowledge, there has not been a formal study to evaluate the
workforce needs of central cancer registries. There are many staffing
models used by central registries, but these models have not been
evaluated for their efficiency of operation, nor the necessary staffing
components. The proposed CDC-NPCR Workload Management Study
is needed to establish efficient staffing guidelines. The central cancer
registry environment is changing quickly and an assessment of staffing
at this point in time will be critical to establishing the optimum staffing
component for the evolving central registry. As data collection for
central registries becomes increasingly complex and de-centralized, a
thorough study of cancer registry staffing patterns is essential to define
the expanding skill sets needed for central cancer registries. Staffing
models derived in the past for hospital-based cancer registries have no
relevance in a population based cancer registry, and data based on
central registry staffing patterns is essential.

Sponsoring Organizations
Canadian Association of Provincial Cancer Agencies ● Canadian Partnership Against Cancer ● Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
College of American Pathologists ● National Cancer Institute ● National Cancer Registrars Association ● Public Health Agency of Canada

Sponsors with Distinction
American Cancer Society ● American College of Surgeons ● American Joint Committee on Cancer

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The population-based cancer registries in the US support and applaud your endeavors
through the Workload Management Study. The information derived from such a study
will help us to ensure that adequate staffing can be established and/or maintained in
central registries across the country. On behalf of the NAACCR Membership, we thank
you for initiating the Workload Management Study and we look forward to the results.
Sincerely,


Betsy A. Kohler, MPH, CTR
Executive Director