IACR Official Website - International Association of Cancer Registries

Updates on ICD-O 3.2 and ICD-O 4

ICD-O-4 (Update as of January 25, 2021)

With the new 5th edition of the Blue Books commencing (it will be completed by mid-2023), it is now the time for the IARC WHO Classification of Tumours Group to start creating new codes. Due to the lack of available codes for new morphological diagnoses in the current 4-digit morphology structure, it is proposed for the next ICD-O edition (ICD-O-4) that a 5th digit will be added.

This approach, with the addition of a “0” where there is no need for a more specific code, or other values if needed was chosen for the ease of conversion and consistency with ICD-O-3 (similar to a MOTNAC to ICD-O-1 conversion). Adding an additional digit to the existing four retains the needed consistency, including the possibility to collapse to previous versions, but will likely require minor changes in registry software, notification forms, etc.

As the previous IACR ICD-O Working Group has now concluded its work with ICD-O-3.2, IACR will establish a new WG with global representation, with a terms of reference that focuses on the required planning for the implementation of ICD-O-4 in cancer registries worldwide.

ICD-O-3.2 (Update as of January 25, 2021):

The preparation of ICD-O-3.2 book (pdf) is at its final stages at the WHO Press, and we hope to have it in the first half of 2021. In the meantime, please refer to the tables available in this page.

Please read through our page on the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology (ICD-O) for details and updates of ICD-O-3.2 and the work that will start for ICD-O-4:

Support for Registries / ICD-O

Dr Divina Esteban: A Tribute

Dr Divina Esteban, a pioneer of cancer registration in the Philippines (and, indeed, in South-Eastern Asia) died on February 20^th, 2020.

Divina qualified in medicine at University of Manila, and later specialized in medical oncology, taking a fellowship at Philippine General Hospital (Manila) and becoming an active clinician, rising to leadership positions in the Philippine Society of Medical Oncology. Working in Rizal Medical Centre, she helped to found in 1974 the Department of Health – Rizal Cancer Registry (DOH-RCR), the first population-based cancer registry in the Philippines,  as one of the activities of the Community Cancer Control Programme of the province of Rizal, and acted as its medical Director for 30 years.

The Rizal Cancer Registry contributed data for 1978-1982  to Cancer Incidence in Five Continents Volume V, and to subsequent volumes, and with IARC, she was a co-author of the first volume of Cancer in Philippines, an early IARC Technical Report (No. 5, published in 1989). The registry also contributed to the first two volumes of “Cancer Survival in Developing Countries”.

Because of its pioneering status, Rizal registry acted as a training centre for staff from other registries in Philippines, and other countries in the region, notably from Thailand and Vietnam. Her expertise as a trainer was recognized in the volume she co-authored with IARC’s Sharon Whelan- the Manual for Cancer Registry Personnel (IARC Technical Report No. 10) in 1995.

Divina was an active member of the IACR, and participated in numerous annual meetings in the 1980’s and 90’s. She retired from the Rizal Medical Center and thus also from the Rizal registry in 2004. She was succeeded by Dr Rica Lumague, a surgeon.

Dr Risto Sankila (1958 – 2019)

Dr Risto Sankila was a former Director of the Finnish Cancer Registry, and led the organization of the IACR 2002 scientific conference in Helsinki (June 2002). He also served as Professor at the Tampere University until 2008. 

As Dr Sankila mastered the subject of survival analysis, he went to IARC in Lyon and substantially contributed to the work of the European Network of Cancer Registries. He served as editor of the IARC Technical Publications No. 37: Evaluation of Clinical Care by Cancer Registries (2003).

Read the full tribute by Dr Roberto Zanetti and Jan Willem Coebergh here: https://www.fondoelenamoroni.org/category/notizie/

ICCR Datasets

Following a period of consultation with the membership and officers of the Board, IACR is endorsing the use of the International Collaboration on Cancer Reporting (ICCR) pathology datasets for cancer reporting.

The links to the datasets are published on IACR's website under: Support for Registries

The published data sets (some of which have translations in Spanish, Portugese and French, are available here: ICCR Datasets

For questions or further information, please ICCR at : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (T: +61 2 8356 5828)