The Commission on Cancer (CoC) has launched a year-long campaign to celebrate its 100-year anniversary. Established by the American College of Surgeons in 1922, the CoC is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to establishing standards to ensure quality, multidisciplinary, and comprehensive cancer care. Since its founding, the CoC has expanded its mission to improve survival and quality of life for cancer patients through standard-setting, prevention, research, education, and the monitoring of comprehensive quality care through compliance standards, data collection, and analysis.

“The longstanding commitment of the ACR to the development of quality standards in radiologic practice and their application through the accreditation process dovetails perfectly with the efforts of the CoC’s accreditation programs,” says Alan C. Hartford, MD, PhD, FACR, professor of radiation oncology at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and president-elect of the ACR Council of Affiliated Regional Radiation Oncology Societies. “Quality metrics for diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy must be fundamental to the CoC’s development of quality standards in cancer diagnosis and treatment. Given its longstanding traditions within the CoC and its many years of organizational experience, the ACR’s quality standards and accreditation activities are a natural bedrock for the CoC’s efforts in quality assessment and improvement.”

Individuals and representatives of more than 50 cancer-related organizations comprise the membership of the CoC and contribute to the development of the CoC standards and accreditation program. Today, there are more than 1,500 CoC-accredited cancer programs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. To learn more about the CoC and receive updates on the 100-year anniversary events, visit facs.org/quality-programs/cancer/coc.