For patients with a history of reportable tumors, how should you handle sequence numbers?

When managing sequence numbers for patients with a history of reportable tumors, reassignment is pertinent when a facility discovers an unaccessioned tumor. Sequence numbers are a vital part of the tumor registry, as they help in accurately tracking the history of a patient’s cancer diagnoses and treatments.

If a facility learns of an unaccessioned tumor, which refers to a tumor that has not been previously recorded in the cancer registry, it is essential to update the patient's records by assigning a new sequence number to that specific tumor. This ensures that the tumor is counted appropriately in the patient's cancer history, preserving the integrity of the database. By doing so, healthcare providers maintain accurate records which are crucial for treatment planning, research, and epidemiological tracking.

In contrast, reassessing sequence numbers after a current tumor is diagnosed could lead to confusion and inaccuracies in the patient's historical tumor data. Likewise, not reassessing them regardless of future findings might result in the omission of significant tumors in the patient's history. The option to reassign only if earlier tumors become reportable also lacks comprehensiveness, as it does not account for unaccessioned tumors that need documentation.