Cancer Protocols

For more than 30 years, the CAP Cancer Protocols have provided structure for consistent and meaningful information that enables health care professionals to manage and study clinical data for improved patient care.

Proven Value of Synoptic Reporting

According to a study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the use of structured reporting “improved patient care in those with CRC [colorectal cancer] by providing more complete reports of higher quality, which had significant effects on the delivery of adjuvant therapy and patient outcomes.” The authors also concluded that implementation of structured reporting for CRC “resulted in increased completeness of pathology reports, higher-quality pathology evaluation, and better outcomes for patients.”¹

In a separate article in the Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, “the introduction of a synoptic report dramatically improved the completeness of reporting of rectal cancer among both non-gastrointestinal and GI pathologists.”²

Synoptic Reporting Using the CAP Cancer Protocols

Using the CAP Cancer Protocols helps ensure that all pathology reports contain necessary data elements to improve patient care. By requiring those specific data elements, synoptic reporting ensures more accurate reports that communicate findings in a clear, standardized format to clinicians, colleagues, researchers, and other users of the data.¹

Designed with our member pathologists and patients in mind, our Cancer Reporting Protocols benefit thousands of CAP member pathologists and other medical professionals by ensuring complete, uniform reporting of malignant tumors. Choose from digital or print/PDF versions to help your laboratory achieve better patient outcomes.

Current Cancer Protocols

View current protocols and download templates

Cancer Protocols Units of Measure

Read more about the CAP Notice regarding Units of Measurement in the CAP electronic Cancer Checklists (eCP) and CAP Cancer Protocols.

Cancer Protocol Review Process

Learn how the CAP develops protocols and conducts the protocol revision process

Synoptic Reporting

Download the definition of Synoptic Reporting with Examples.

Cancer Reporting Education Programs

Improve your cancer reporting skills and earn CME credit through CAP anatomic pathology education programs—Performance Improvement Program in Surgical Pathology (PIP), Virtual Biopsy Program (VBP), Digital Slide Program in Dermatopathology (DPATH), Hematopathology Online Education (HPATH), and Practicum in Cancer Surgical Pathology (PCSP).

Online Resources

• The AJCC Cancer Staging Manual, 8th Edition, and Cancer Protocols: Changes to Staging and Implications for Pathology - On Demand
• The Value of Your Pathology Report: The California Cancer Registry Structured Reporting Collaboration (Webinar)

Collaborations

• American Joint Committee on Cancer
• Cancer Care Ontario
• Canadian Partnership Against Cancer
• California Cancer Registry (CCR)
• International Collaboration on Cancer Reporting (ICCR)
• ONC-Structured Data Capture

References

1.  “Improvement of Care in Patients with Colorectal Cancer: Influence of the Introduction of Standardized Structured Reporting for Pathology.” JCO® Clinical Cancer Informatics. https://ascopubs.org/doi/abs/10.1200/CCI.18.00104
2.  “What Impact Has the Introduction of a Synoptic Report for Rectal Cancer Had on Reporting Outcomes for Specialist Gastrointestinal and Nongastrointestinal Pathologists?” Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. https://meridian.allenpress.com/aplm/article/135/11/1471/64981/What-Impact-Has-the-Introduction-of-a-Synoptic