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May 2003
Special Section
For cytology cases, no protocols requirement
Reporting the essential elements of the CAP’s cancer protocols will be required
next year by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer,
but this does not pertain to cytologic material.
The ACS Commission on Cancer will require its accredited cancer
programs to use the required elements of the CAP’s cancer
protocol checklists in initial pathology reports of tumor malignancies
beginning Jan. 1, 2004. The CoC approves more than 1,430 cancer
programs at hospitals and freestanding cancer centers nationwide.
The accreditation surveys are performed every three years, and compliance
with reporting the essential elements of the cancer checklists will
be mandatory. This does not apply to cytologic material, because
in most cases this is either a screening or an initial diagnostic
test. In an effort by the CAP to clarify the use of the essential
elements, the revised checklists do not include a cytology section.
Although the supporting materials for most checklists do have a
section on cytology, it is not a requirement for CoC compliance
because it is not applicable.
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