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Release of CDC NPCR’s NorthCon 23 Record Converter

  • 1.  Release of CDC NPCR’s NorthCon 23 Record Converter

    Posted 09-07-2022 11:56 AM

    Sent on behalf of Joe Rogers

     

    Date:                   September 7, 2022         

     

    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 23 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. NorthCon23.exe, a freestanding program for Microsoft Windows, converts files of cancer registry records from NAACCR 22 to NAACCR 23, which are data formats prescribed by the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR). Input files should conform to NAACCR version 22 XML. Converted output files will contain records in NAACCR version 23 XML. This new version is available at:  https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/npcr/tools/registryplus/up.htm.

     

    This initial release of NorthCon 23 includes the nconv23.dll, which can be used to perform conversion with a program other than NorthCon23.exe. After installation, nconv23.dll can be found in the same directory in which you installed NorthCon23.exe.

     

    Once you install NorthCon230, a file called Conversion to NAACCR v23.docx, will be saved to the Documentation folder within the NorthCon V23 application folder. This document provides instructions for creating user dictionaries, accessing manual review, and detailed information regarding the conversion specifications.

     

    NorthCon23.exe performs the following conversions as specified in NAACCR's 2023 Implementation Guidelines and Recommendations :

    • Conversions related to radiation treatment and staging 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 and 9th Edition staging. For registries not requiring AJCC TNM staging, the review is optional; however, manual review listings will be generated if the file contains records with AJCC TNM staging data items populated.
    • Sets Staging API Versions Current rather than calling to the latest AJCC Cancer Surveillance DLL to update the current version data items.
      • The most significant change for NorthCon 230 is that it does not call to the AJCC Cancer Surveillance DLL for v23.
    • 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 '230' in each converted record.

     

    Note: If a user dictionary is not needed to convert data from NAACCR version 22 to 23, the NorthCon23.exe.config found within the NorthCon V23 directory, will need to be updated to remove the LocalDictionary definition.

     

    It is recommended v22 edits be run and errors corrected prior to running the conversion.

     

    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 220 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

     


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    Joseph D. Rogers (Joe), MS

     Team Lead

    Informatics, Data Science, and Applications Team

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

     

    National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR)

    Cancer Surveillance Branch (CSB)

     Division of Cancer Prevention and Control (DCPC)

    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

     

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