New Educational Resource on Cancer Surgery Protocols Is Available

The ACS Cancer Surgery Standards Program (CSSP) recently published new cancer surgery protocols—ACS Protocols for Cancer Surgery Documentation—which provide guidance on the collection of essential data and key aspects of cancer surgery via the operative report. This series can serve as a useful educational tool for surgeons and surgeons in training.

The mission of the CSSP is to define and implement cancer surgery standards so that surgeons and institutions can readily adopt and easily integrate them into their daily workflow.

Developed by subject matter experts as part of the CSSP, each protocol includes a comprehensive list of data fields in synoptic format, followed by supporting explanatory comments and reference materials.

Data elements include fields auto-populated from the electronic health record and cancer-specific information such as intent of surgery, preoperative diagnosis, tumor location, and lymph node dissection.

Each data field has a corresponding explanatory comment with background information, such as evidence from the Operative Standards for Cancer Surgery manuals and the American Joint Committee on Cancer’s Cancer Staging Manual, as well as coding information from the National Cancer Database Standards for Oncology Registry Entry manual. Illustrations for anatomic considerations during surgery are also included in the protocols.

Protocols for melanoma, breast, and colon cancers now are available on Amazon via Kindle and in print, and protocols for thyroid, pancreatic, and lung cancers are available via Kindle by searching for “Protocol for Cancer Surgery Documentation.” Gastric and adrenal cancer manuals will be released in the future. 

To learn more about the new cancer surgery protocols, visit facs.org/cssp.

Amanda Francescatti is the Senior Manager of the ACS Clinical Research Program and the Cancer Surgery Standards Program in the ACS Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care in Chicago, IL.