What is the process of identifying reportable cancer cases called?

The process of identifying reportable cancer cases is known as casefinding. This process involves implementing systematic approaches to locate individuals who have received a cancer diagnosis and documenting those cases for tracking and reporting purposes. It is critical for cancer registries to ensure comprehensive and accurate data collection for cancer statistics, research, and patient care.

Casefinding can involve various methods, including reviewing hospital records, medical reports, pathology records, and collaborating with healthcare providers. By identifying these cases, cancer registries can maintain up-to-date databases that reflect the incidence and prevalence of cancer in specific populations, which is essential for public health efforts, resource allocation, and policy-making.

While the other options relate to aspects of managing cancer data, they do not specifically focus on the initial task of identifying cancer cases. For example, case review pertains to evaluating existing cases for quality and completeness, data collection involves gathering and compiling information from various sources, and case documentation refers to the formal record-keeping of cases once identified. Each of these plays a role in the overall process, but casefinding is distinct in its primary goal of uncovering new cases of cancer.