Alternate Name Item# Length Source of Standard Column #
2550 1000 NPCR 8565-9564

Description
Text area for manual documentation of information from laboratory examinations other than cytology or histopathology.

Rationale
Text documentation is an essential component of a complete electronic abstract and is heavily utilized for quality control and special studies. Text is needed to justify coded values and to document supplemental information not transmitted within coded values. High-quality text documentation facilitates consolidation of information from multiple reporting sources at the central registry.

The text field must contain a description that has been entered by the abstractor independently from the code(s). If cancer abstraction software generates text automatically from codes, the text cannot be utilized to check coded values. Information documenting the disease process should be entered manually from the medical record and should not be generated electronically from coded values.

Instructions
Note: For abstracting software that allows unlimited text, NAACCR recommends that the software indicate to the abstractor the portion of the text that will be transmitted to the central registry.

Suggestions for text:
Item name
Primary Site
Grade
Diagnostic Confirmation
Collaborative Stage variables
Date of Diagnosis

Data Item(s) to be verified/validated using the text entered in this field:
After manual entry of the text field, ensure that the text entered both agrees with the coded values and clearly justifies the selected codes in the following fields:

Item name Item number
Primary Site 400
Grade 440
Diagnostic Confirmation 490
Collaborative Stage variables 2800-2930
Date of Diagnosis 390