Interstate Data Exchange

The Louisiana Tumor Registry (LTR) is often asked if its data includes cancer cases diagnosed and/or treated at out-of-state facilities. The answer is yes.

The LTR currently has interstate data exchange agreements in place, either through the NAACCR Interstate Data Exchange Agreement or individual state-to-state agreements, with 48 population-based cancer registries.  These registries transmit abstracted data for Louisiana cancer patients to the LTR twice a year. If Louisiana cancer cases are not identified from their casefinding efforts, these registries usually notify the LTR accordingly by email.

The NAACCR Interstate Data Exchange Agreement and a map of the participating registries can be found at this link: https://www.naaccr.org/national-interstate-data-exchange-agreement/

In addition to the population-based cancer registries that have signed the NAACCR agreement, the LTR has individual agreements in place with Missouri and Florida.

Here is an example of how this works:

A woman in Lake Charles, LA detects a lump in her breast.  She immediately thinks it is cancer and decides to go to a well-known cancer center in Texas for diagnosis and treatment. Unfortunately, the woman is correct; a biopsy is performed at the cancer center that confirms her suspicion.

The cancer registrars identify this woman’s breast cancer as a reportable case, but realize that her address at the time of her diagnosis is in Lake Charles, LA. Thus, the cancer registrars submit this case to the Texas Cancer Registry so that it can be transmitted to the Louisiana Tumor Registry.