National Cancer Database: The Past, Present, and Future of the Cancer Registry and Its Efforts to Improve the Quality of Cancer Care.

The National Cancer Database (NCDB) continues to evolve to improve the care of the cancer patient. Over the last 30 years, the NCDB has compiled nearly 40 million patient records submitted by over 1500 hospitals across the country. Addressing new challenges, the NCDB is transitioning to ensure data flow is more timely and data collection more efficient. The Rapid Cancer Reporting System will be a significant step toward bringing data abstraction into real time and providing a quality data platform to support the information needs of high-quality clinical practice.