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Release of CDC NPCR’s NorthCon 22 Record Converter

  • 1.  Release of CDC NPCR’s NorthCon 22 Record Converter

    Posted 09-01-2021 05:00 PM

    Sent on behalf of Joe Rogers

     

    Date:                     September 1, 2021         

     

    To:                        NAACCR Listserv members           

     

    From:                   Joseph D. Rogers, M.S.

                   Team Lead: Informatics, Data Science, and Applications Team

                                 National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR)

                                 Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, NCCDPHP, CDC

     

    Subject:               Release of CDC NPCR's NorthCon 22 Record Converter

     

     

    We are very pleased to announce that CDC's National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) has released a new version of the NorthCon record converter program. NorthCon22.exe, a freestanding program for Microsoft Windows, converts files of cancer registry records from NAACCR 21 to NAACCR 22, which are data formats prescribed by the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR). Input files should conform to NAACCR version 21 XML. Converted output files will contain records in the NAACCR version 22 XML standard format. This new version is available at:  https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/npcr/tools/registryplus/up.htm.

     

    This initial release of NorthCon 22 includes the nconv22.dll, which can be used to perform conversion with a program other than NorthCon22.exe. After installation, nconv22.dll can be found in the same directory in which you installed NorthCon22.exe.

     

    Once you install NorthCon220, a file called Conversion to NAACCR v22.docx, will be saved to the Documentation folder within the Northcon V22 application folder. This document provides instructions for creating user dictionaries, accessing manual review, detailed information regarding the conversion specifications, and helpful information describing changes to NPCR data items for NAACCR v22. The NPCR data items are no longer automatically added to a user dictionary when a user dictionary is created for v22 since several NPCR items were added to the NAACCR Base Dictionary for v22 and several other NPCR items were retired for v22. If registries wish to continue collecting the retired items (Height [9960], Weight [9961], Tobacco Use Cigarettes [9965], Tobacco Use Other Smoke [9966], Tobacco Use Smokeless [9967], Tobacco Use NOS [9968], and ECC Flag [12010]), the items will need to be added to user dictionaries for v22.

     

    Northcon22.exe performs the following conversions as specified in NAACCR's Implementation Guide for 2022, available from the NAACCR web site:

    • Conversions related to staging, grade, and SSDI fields for cases diagnosed on or after January 1, 2018, and lists some of these cases for review. 
      • Most scenarios requiring manual review are for those collecting AJCC TNM 8th Edition staging and EOD. For registries not requiring AJCC TNM staging and EOD, the review is optional; however, manual review listings will be generated if the file contains records with AJCC TNM and/or EOD staging data items populated.
    • Performs conversions related to edits to improve data quality and consistency.
    • Sets Staging API Versions Current based on the version of the AJCC Cancer Surveillance DLL.
    • Enables grouping of tumors by Patient ID when the input file is sorted by Patient ID.
    • The NAACCR Record Version [item 50] value is set to '220' in each converted record.

     

    For more information about this NPCR utility, please visit our utility programs web page: https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/npcr/tools/registryplus/up.htm

    Please Note: NorthCon 210 is still available on the webpage at the bottom of the page under Converting Previous Versions.

     

    Please send all issues or support questions directly to the Helpdesk at cancerinformatics@cdc.gov.

     

    Please share this information with other members of your team, as appropriate.

     

    Thank you,

    Joe

     

     

     

     

     

    Data Visualizations   

    Public Use Databases

    Joseph D. Rogers (Joe), MS

    Team Lead

    Informatics, Data Science, and Applications Team

    National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR)

    Division of Cancer Prevention and Control (DCPC)

    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

    Email: JRogers@cdc.gov   Tel: 770-488-4701

     

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