Minnesota Cancer Surveillance System

Legislative Authority

Minnesota Statutes and Rules

The Minnesota Cancer Surveillance System (MCSS) was established in 1987 to collect information on all newly diagnosed cancers among Minnesota residents as mandated by Minnesota Statutes 144.671-144.69 and Minnesota Rules Chapter 4606.  This legislation specifies the manner in which all cancer cases must be reported to the MCSS. It also requires that all data remain confidential. View the statute and rules at:

Federal Legislation

The Cancer Registries Amendment Act (Public Law 102-515) (PDF: 66KB/6 pages) in 1994 established the National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR).  This federal legislation, administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, collects data on the occurrence of cancer; the type, extent, and location of the cancer; and the type of initial treatment.   The legislation enhances the MCSS as it provides, in part, funds to improve existing state cancer registries, to provide training, and to set standards for completeness, timeliness and quality.

The Benign Brain Tumor Cancer Registries Amendment Act (Public Law 107-260) (PDF: 186KB/4 pages) was passed in 2002. 
This federal mandate requires cancer registries participating in the National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) to collect data on all benign and borderline tumors of the brain and central nervous system for cases diagnosed since January 1, 2004, in addition to the previously required data on malignant tumors.

HIPAA and Cancer Reporting

HIPAA permits the reporting of information about cases of cancer to the MCSS in accordance with the requirements of Minnesota statute and rule. HIPAA Privacy rules took effect on April 14, 2003. The following documents will help those who diagnose and treat cancer patients in understanding how the federal rules affect cancer reporting to the MCSS:

MCSS operations are supported, in part, by CDC Cooperative Agreement #U58-DP000802. The contents of this web site are solely the responsibility of MCSS and do not necessarily represent the official views of the CDC.

Updated Thursday, 20-Dec-2012 16:06:28 CST