Consensus-based framework for evaluating data modernization initiatives: the case of cancer registration and electronic reporting

As part of its data modernization initiative (DMI), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control is testing and implementing innovative solutions to improve cancer surveillance data quality and timeliness. We describe a consensus-based effort to create a framework to guide the evaluation of cancer surveillance modernization efforts by addressing specific context, processes, and costs related to cancer registration. We drew on prior theories, consulted with experts, and sought feedback from cancer registry staff. We developed the cancer surveillance systems, context, outcomes, and process evaluation (CS-SCOPE) framework to explain the ways in which cancer registry data quality, timeliness, and efficiency are impacted by external and internal contextual factors and interrelated process and content factors. The framework includes implementation measures to understand acceptability of process changes along with outcome measures to assess DMI initiation and ongoing sustainability. The framework's components and structures can be tailored for use in other DMI evaluations.

Patterns of Mammography Screening in Women with Breast Cancer in a Kansas Community

Purpose

The objective of this study was to examine patterns of mammography screening prior to breast cancer diagnosis in all women with breast cancer in a Kansas community.

Methods

The study population included 508 women in the Kansas Cancer Registry database diagnosed with breast cancer between 2013-2014 who were patients and residents of a defined area at the time of diagnosis. Screening history within 4 years of diagnosis was obtained. Poisson regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between sociodemographic factors and biennial screening.

Results

About 41.5% of women received at least biennial screening, while 22.1% received less than biennial screening and 36.4% had no screening. About 40% of women aged 50-64, 50.4% aged 65-74, and 48.3% aged 75-84 received biennial screening (p=0.002). Women diagnosed with in-situ and localized breast cancers had significantly higher proportions of biennial screening (46.7% and 48.6%, respectively; p < 0.001). Average tumor size was 15.7, 17.4, and 24.4 mm, for women who received at least biennial, some, and no screening, respectively (p < 0.001). Results from Poisson regression analysis showed the adjusted relative risk associated with rural/mixed residence at diagnosis and Medicaid beneficiary was 0.45 and 0.40 (p=0.003 and p=0.032) respectively.

Conclusions

Biennial mammography screening was associated with lower breast cancer stage and smaller tumor size, illustrating the importance of screening as early detection. Different outreach strategies may be necessary to reach women within varied age groups or geographical regions to help increase the number of women who remain up-to-date with mammography screening.

Operational Characteristics of Central Cancer Registries that Support the Generation of High-Quality Surveillance Data

Objectives

We aim to assess external and internal attributes and operations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) central cancer registries by their consistency in meeting national data quality standards.

Methods

The NPCR 2017 Program Evaluation Instrument (PEI) data were used to assess registry operational attributes, including adoption of electronic reporting, compliance with reporting, staffing, and software used among 46 NPCR registries. These factors were stratified by (1) registries that met the NPCR 12-month standards for all years 2014-2017; (2) registries that met the NPCR 12-month standards at least once in 2014-2017 and met the NPCR 24-month standards for all years 2014-2017; and (3) registries that did not meet the NPCR 24-month standards for all years 2014-2017. Statistical tests helped identify significant differences among registries that consistently, sometimes, or seldom/never achieved data standards.

Results

Registries that always met the standards had a higher level of electronic reporting and a higher compliance with reporting among hospitals than registries that sometimes or seldom/never met the standards. Although not a statistically significant finding, the same registries also had a higher proportion of staffing positions filled, a higher proportion of certified tumor registrars, and more quality assurance and information technology staff.

Conclusions

This information may be used to understand the importance of various factors and characteristics, including the adoption of electronic reporting, that may be associated with a registry's ability to consistently meet NPCR standards. The findings may be helpful in identifying best practices for processing high-quality cancer data.

Integration of Cancer Screening Data into Routine Cancer Surveillance Systems: A Florida Pilot Project

Introduction

Integration of screening data into routine cancer surveillance systems can create more robust data systems to inform cancer prevention and control activities. Currently, state central cancer registries do not routinely collect breast and cervical cancer screening data as part of state cancer surveillance activities. Florida conducted a pilot study involving: (1) linkage of breast and cervical cancer screening data from the Florida Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (FBCCEDP) from 2009 to 2021 to the Florida Cancer Data System (FCDS) database to capture screening data for matched cancer cases in the FCDS; and (2) evaluation of the feasibility of developing a population-based breast and cervical cancer screening surveillance system by capturing electronic screening data from private health care providers.

Methods

In 2018, the FCDS worked with the Florida Department of Health to identify data partners for the 5-year cancer screening pilot project funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Engagement of project partners required extensive review of available screening data; data standards and formatting; data transmission schedules and methods; and processing procedures. The FCDS developed a database to integrate multiple source data sets into a single database whereby linkage to the central cancer registry could be performed.

Results

The FCDS worked with Suncoast Health Systems, a clinical practice in the Hillsborough region of Florida, and the FBCCEDP to evaluate data availability, standardization of data sets, and data submission schedules for the pilot project. Extensive meetings and data reviews were conducted with both partners in the first phase of the project. The FCDS developed automated data processing procedures to integrate the data into a single cancer screening database and then linked records to the central cancer registry data set.

Discussion

Registry collaboration with the FBCCEDP and Suncoast team on data quality and standardization has produced positive results. The project required extensive review of data and produced many lessons learned for development of a cancer screening surveillance system. Our pilot project depended on partnership building, commitment to data quality, and consistency in data submission practices.

Factors Affecting the Adoption of Electronic Data Reporting and Outcomes Among Selected Central Cancer Registries of the National Program of Cancer Registries

PURPOSE

The CDC's National Program of Cancer Registries has expanded the use of electronic reporting to collect more timely information on newly diagnosed cancers. The adoption, implementation, and use of electronic reporting vary significantly among central cancer registries. We identify factors affecting the adoption of electronic reporting among these registries.

METHODS

Directors and data managers of nine National Program of Cancer Registries took part in separate 1-hour telephone interviews in early 2019. Directors were asked about their registry's key data quality goals; staffing, resources, and tools used to aid processes; their definition and self-perception of electronic reporting adoption; key helpers and challenges; and cost and sustainability implications for adoption of electronic reporting. Data managers were asked about specific data collection processes, software applications, electronic reporting adoption and self-perception, information technology infrastructure, and helpers and challenges to data collection and processing, data quality, and sustainability of approach.

RESULTS

Larger registries identified organizational capacity and technical expertise as key aides. Other help for implementing electronic reporting processes came from partnerships, funding availability, management support, legislation, and access to an interstate data exchange. Common challenges among lower adopters included lack of capacity at both registry and data source levels, insufficient staffing, and a lack of information technology or technical support. Other challenges consisted of automation and interoperability of software, volume of cases received, state political environment, and quality of data received.

CONCLUSION

Feedback from the formative evaluation yielded several useful solutions that can guide implementation of electronic reporting and help refine the technical assistance provided to registries. Our findings may help guide future process and economic evaluations of electronic reporting and identify best practices to strengthen registry operations.

Pursuing Data Modernization in Cancer Surveillance by Developing a Cloud-Based Computing Platform: Real-Time Cancer Case Collection

Cancer surveillance is a field focused on collection of data to evaluate the burden of cancer and apply public health strategies to prevent and control cancer in the community. A key challenge facing the cancer surveillance community is the number of manual tasks required to collect cancer surveillance data, thereby resulting in possible delays in analysis and use of the information. To modernize and automate cancer data collection and reporting, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is planning, developing, and piloting a cancer surveillance cloud-based computing platform (CS-CBCP) with standardized electronic reporting from laboratories and health-care providers. With this system, automation of the cancer case collection process and access to real-time cancer case data can be achieved, which could not be done before. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated the importance of continuity of operations plans, and the CS-CBCP has the potential to provide such a platform suitable for remote operations of central cancer registries.

COVID-19 Outbreak in an Amish Community - Ohio, May 2020

In the United States, outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), were initially reported in densely populated urban areas (1); however, outbreaks have since been reported in rural communities (2,3). Rural residents might be at higher risk for severe COVID-19-associated illness because, on average, they are older, have higher prevalences of underlying medical conditions, and have more limited access to health care services.* In May, after a cluster of seven COVID-19 cases was identified in a rural Ohio Amish community, access to testing was increased. Among 30 additional residents tested by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR; TaqPath COVID-19 Combo Kit),^† 23 (77%) received positive test results for SARS-CoV-2. Rapid and sustained transmission of SARS-CoV-2 was associated with multiple social gatherings. Informant interviews revealed that community members were concerned about having to follow critical mitigation strategies, including social distancing^§ and mask wearing.^¶ To help reduce the ongoing transmission risk in a community, state and county health department staff members and community leaders need to work together to develop, deliver, and promote culturally responsive health education messages to prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission and ensure that access to testing services is timely and convenient. Understanding the dynamics of close-knit communities is crucial to reducing SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

Costs and Resources Used by Population-based Cancer Registries in the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands

Background: The costs of cancer registration have previously been estimated for registries in the continental United States and many international registries; however, to date, there has been no economic assessment of population-based registries in the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands. This study estimates the costs and factors affecting the operations of US-Affiliated Pacific Island population-based cancer registries. Methods: The web-based International Registry Costing Tool1 was used to collect costs, resources used, cancer cases processed, and other registry characteristics from the Pacific Regional Central Cancer Registry (PRCCR), Federated States of Micronesia National Cancer Registry, and nine satellite jurisdictional registries within the US Pacific Islands. The registries provided data on costs for June 30, 2016-June 29, 2017, and cases processed during 2014. Results: Local host institutions provided a vital source of support for US-Affiliated Pacific Islands registries, covering substantial fixed costs, such as management and overhead. The cost per cancer case processed had an almost tenfold variation across registries, with the average total cost per case of about $1,413. The average cost per inhabitant in the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands was about $1.77 per person. Discussion: The challenges of collecting data from dispersed populations spread across multiple islands of the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands are likely leading factors driving the magnitude of the registries' cost per case. The economic information from this study provides a valuable source of activity-based cost data that can both help guide cancer control initiatives and help registries improve operations and efficiency.

Evaluating the Use of LAST 2-Tiered Nomenclature and Its Impact on Reporting Cervical Lesions in a Population-Based Cancer Registry

BACKGROUND

Since 2012, the Lower Anogenital Squamous Terminology (LAST) Project recommended a 2-tiered nomenclature, low-grade and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL and HSIL), to replace the 3-tiered cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) system for HPV-associated lesions. Prior to 2019, preinvasive cervical lesions classified as CIN3, severe dysplasia, carcinoma in situ (CIS), and adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) were considered reportable to the Louisiana Tumor Registry for a CIN3 project funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); but lesions classified exclusively as high-grade/HSIL based on the 2-tiered system were not considered reportable. Due to the terminology changes, we wanted to know whether pre-2019 reportable criteria need to be modified to capture all reportable precancerous cervical cases diagnosed in 2019 forward.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the utilization of LAST 2-tiered classification, low-grade and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, and p16 immunohistochemistry (IHC) testing on cervical biopsy/surgical specimens, assess the search criteria needed to identify high-grade lesions for the CDC-funded CIN3 project, and assess the impact of underreporting cervical lesions caused by terminology changes.

METHODS

An equal number of abnormal/precancerous and normal cervical findings from biopsy pathology reports received in 2015 were randomly selected by an artificial intelligence (AI) search engine developed by Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Inc (AIM) using pre2019 search criteria. Selected pathology reports were reflagged for the reportability by AIM audit software based on 2019 search criteria and manually reviewed for the use of reportable terms including CIN3, severe dysplasia, CIS, AIS, highgrade/HSIL terminology, and CIN2 or CIN2-3 with positive p16 IHC testing. Cohen's kappa statistic was used to assess the agreement between AIM auto-coding and manual review. Positive predictive values (PPV) and sensitivity tests were computed to evaluate the reportable terms.

RESULTS

Six out of 9 surveyed laboratories used 2-tiered terminology on cervical biopsy pathology reports and 7 performed p16 IHC tests. Of 1,974 randomly selected reports from 5 laboratories, 987 were flagged as precancer by AI using pre-2019 search criteria. After adding the high-grade/HSIL term into pre-2019 search criteria, precancerous reports increased by 29%. After manual review, 41.6% of these cases were reportable precancerous cervical cases with a PPV of 0.65 (95% CI, 0.62-0.67) and 13.6% had p16 IHC performed.

CONCLUSIONS

Both the 2-tiered and 3-tiered nomenclature are needed to ensure complete identification of all reportable high-grade cervical lesions.

Progress in voluntary medical male circumcision for HIV prevention supported by the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through 2017: longitudinal and recent cross-sectional programme data

OBJECTIVE

This article provides an overview and interpretation of the performance of the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief's (PEPFAR's) male circumcision programme which has supported the majority of voluntary medical male circumcisions (VMMCs) performed for HIV prevention, from its 2007 inception to 2017, and client characteristics in 2017.

DESIGN

Longitudinal collection of routine programme data and disaggregations.

SETTING

14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa with low baseline male circumcision coverage, high HIV prevalence and PEPFAR-supported VMMC programmes.

PARTICIPANTS

Clients of PEPFAR-supported VMMC programmes directed at males aged 10 years and above.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Numbers of circumcisions performed and disaggregations by age band, result of HIV test offer, procedure technique and follow-up visit attendance.

RESULTS

PEPFAR supported a total of 15 269 720 circumcisions in 14 countries in Southern and Eastern Africa. In 2017, 45% of clients were under 15 years of age, 8% had unknown HIV status, 1% of those tested were HIV+ and 84% returned for a follow-up visit within 14 days of circumcision.

CONCLUSIONS

Over 15 million VMMCs have been supported by PEPFAR since 2007. VMMC continues to attract primarily young clients. The non-trivial proportion of clients not testing for HIV is expected, and may be reassuring that testing is not being presented as mandatory for access to circumcision, or in some cases reflect test kit stockouts or recent testing elsewhere. While VMMC is extremely safe, achieving the highest possible follow-up rates for early diagnosis and intervention on complications is crucial, and programmes continue to work to raise follow-up rates. The VMMC programme has achieved rapid scale-up but continues to face challenges, and new approaches may be needed to achieve the new Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS goal of 27 million additional circumcisions through 2020.

Controlling the last known cluster of Ebola virus disease - Liberia, January-February 2015

As one of the three West African countries highly affected by the 2014-2015 Ebola virus disease (Ebola) epidemic, Liberia reported approximately 10,000 cases. The Ebola epidemic in Liberia was marked by intense urban transmission, multiple community outbreaks with source cases occurring in patients coming from the urban areas, and outbreaks in health care facilities (HCFs). This report, based on data from routine case investigations and contact tracing, describes efforts to stop the last known chain of Ebola transmission in Liberia. The index patient became ill on December 29, 2014, and the last of 21 associated cases was in a patient admitted into an Ebola treatment unit (ETU) on February 18, 2015. The chain of transmission was stopped because of early detection of new cases; identification, monitoring, and support of contacts in acceptable settings; effective triage within the health care system; and rapid isolation of symptomatic contacts. In addition, a "sector" approach, which divided Montserrado County into geographic units, facilitated the ability of response teams to rapidly respond to community needs. In the final stages of the outbreak, intensive coordination among partners and engagement of community leaders were needed to stop transmission in densely populated Montserrado County. A companion report describes the efforts to enhance infection prevention and control efforts in HCFs. After February 19, no additional clusters of Ebola cases have been detected in Liberia. On May 9, the World Health Organization declared the end of the Ebola outbreak in Liberia.

Community based participatory approaches to address health disparities in Hawai'i: recent applications in cancer prevention, detection and treatment programs

Assessment of recent trends in the prevalence and incidence of cancer, and its associated risk and protective factors in the State of Hawai'i illustrate that there are definite ethnic, socio-economic, and geographic health disparities. Disparities in access to health care are reflected in decreased and under utilization of all types of preventive cancer screening tests and decreased proportions of people with health insurance coverage. Increases in obesity mirror U.S. national trends and disproportionately affect certain ethnic groups and those with low income. Tobacco use has increased among at-risk populations including: certain ethnic groups, those with low-income and/or low education and those in rural areas. Data that reveal continuing or worsening health disparities imply that either the old methods have not been effective and/or resources are not available or are not being applied to address such disparities. Promising methodologies and programmatic focuses to reduce health disparities are needed as mechanisms for improving the circumstances of at-risk populations. Community based participatory approaches are described here for cancer prevention, detection, and treatment programs that utilize culturally appropriate methods.