of Rhode Island

Hospital Association

In the state of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Department of Health contracts the Hospital Association of Rhode Island (HARI) to maintain the official statewide cancer incidence database via the Rhode Island Central Cancer Registry (RICR).  RICR staff are responsible for collecting newly diagnosed cancer cases and submitting data to national organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Program for Cancer Registries (NPCR), the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR), as well as international studies such as Concord and IARC. 

The RICR was established in 1986.  Since October of 1986, the RICR has collected detailed demographic, diagnostic, clinical, treatment and outcome information.  Data is collected by Rhode Island’s acute care hospitals, freestanding radiation therapy centers, pathology labs, and data exchange with a majority of the fifty states.  Data collection is mandated by Rhode Island state law. The Rhode Island Department of Health uses the cancer data to guide various cancer control programs, conduct surveillance and to provide qualified researchers with accurate, timely, and complete data.  

Rhode Island Cancer Registry staff routinely perform data quality and completeness audits on data from reporting facilities as well as providing training programs at no cost to attendees. 

Currently, the Rhode Island Cancer Registry database contains over 165,000 cancers diagnosed in residents of the state of Rhode Island. 

The Rhode Island Cancer Registry has been awarded the "gold standard" for twenty-one consecutive years by the accrediting body for central cancer registries, the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries. The accreditation process involves the examination of six distinct areas of data quality, completeness, and timeliness. Rhode Island consistently meets the highest standard in all six criteria. The Rhode Island Cancer Registry has also been awarded the Registry of Distinction award by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Program for Cancer Registries.

RICR is one of fifteen state cancer registries selected to take part in the CDC NPCR Childhood Cancer STAR Project. The STAR act (Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research Act) was signed into law to assist cancer registries in collecting and making data available on pediatric and young adult cancer cases within weeks of diagnosis rather than years.

Information relating to the incidence of cancer in Rhode Island is available at the Rhode Island Department of Health website.