NQF Endorses Additional Cancer Measures 

Washington, DC – the National Quality Forum (NQF) Board of Directors has endorsed 16 quality measures related to the diagnosis and treatment of breast and colon cancers. The measures were evaluated as part of NQF’s cancer endorsement maintenance project, which saw 22 measures endorsed in areas such as radiation dose limits and palliative care in August 2012.

“Despite enormous focus on prevention and treatment of cancer, inconsistencies in care exist, with many patients not receiving care that follows clinical practice guidelines,” said Helen Burstin, MD, MPH, senior vice president for performance measures at NQF. “These additional measures support quality improvement efforts that will help advance higher-quality care and better outcomes for individuals dealing with breast and colon cancers.”

Cancer care can be complicated, costly, and fragmented. Patients often need to navigate complex treatment regimens involving multiple providers, settings of care, and levels of treatment. Many patients need individualized therapies, yet face an evolving evidence base for treatment, with providers often disagreeing over what qualifies as optimal care. These measures will play an important role in ensuring patients receive appropriate, high-quality treatment.

The measures include those that have been endorsed for at least three years and have now undergone NQF endorsement maintenance. The ongoing evaluation and updating of endorsed measures ensures they reflect current science, address gaps in existing measures, are synchronistic with national priorities, and enhance NQF’s cancer portfolio; such evaluation also ensures measure harmonization. In all, 18 measures were evaluated against NQF’s endorsement criteria, with 16 – including six new measures – receiving endorsement status.

NQF is a voluntary consensus standards-setting organization. Any party may request reconsideration of any of the 16 endorsed quality measures listed below by submitting an appeal no later than November 21 (to submit an appeal, go to the NQF Measure Database). For an appeal to be considered, the notification must include information clearly demonstrating that the appellant has interests directly and materially affected by the NQF-endorsed recommendations and that the NQF decision has had (or will have) an adverse effect on those interests.

Endorsed Measures 

• 0223: Adjuvant chemotherapy is considered or administered within 4 months (120 days) of surgery to patients under the age of 80 with AJCC III (lymph node positive) colon cancer (Commission on Cancer, American College of Surgeons)
• 0225: At least 12 regional lymph nodes are removed and pathologically examined for resected colon cancer (Commission on Cancer, American College of Surgeons)
• 0385: Oncology: Chemotherapy for Stage IIIA through IIIC Colon Cancer Patients (AMA-PCPI)
• 0392: Colorectal Cancer Resection Pathology Reporting- pT category (primary tumor) and pN category (regional lymph nodes) with histologic grade (College of American Pathologists)
• 1859: KRAS gene mutation testing performed for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who receive anti-epidermal growth factor receptor monoclonal antibody therapy (American Society of Clinical Oncology)
• 1860: Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and KRAS gene mutation spared treatment with anti-epidermal growth factor receptor monoclonal antibodies (American Society of Clinical Oncology)
• 0219: Post breast conservation surgery irradiation (Commission on Cancer, American College of Surgeons)
• 0220: Adjuvant hormonal therapy (Commission on Cancer, American College of Surgeons)
• 0221: Needle biopsy to establish diagnosis of cancer precedes surgical excision/resection (Commission on Cancer, American College of Surgeons)
• 0391: Breast Cancer Resection Pathology Reporting- pT category (primary tumor) and pN category (regional lymph nodes) with histologic grade (College of American Pathologists)
• 0559: Combination chemotherapy is considered or administered within 4 months (120 days) of diagnosis for women under 70 with AJCC T1c, or Stage II or III hormone receptor negative breast cancer (American College of Surgeons)
• 0387: Oncology: Hormonal therapy for stage IC through IIIC, ER/PR positive breast cancer (AMA-PCPI)
• 1857: Patients with breast cancer and negative or undocumented human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status who are spared treatment with trastuzumab (American Society of Clinical Oncology)
• 1855: Quantitative HER2 evaluation by IHC uses the system recommended by the ASCO/CAP guidelines (College of American Pathologists)
• 1858: Trastuzumab administered to patients with AJCC stage I (T1c) – III and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positive breast cancer who receive adjuvant chemotherapy (American Society of Clinical Oncology)
• 1878: Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) testing in breast cancer (American Society of Clinical Oncology)

Get the details – what measures were endorsed, what gaps they filled, and where they can be used – with NQF’s Cancer Endorsement Summary. 

NQF operates under a three-part mission to improve the quality of American healthcare by:  

• building consensus on national priorities and goals for performance improvement and working in partnership to achieve them;
• endorsing national consensus standards for measuring and publicly reporting on performance; and
• promoting the attainment of national goals through education and outreach programs.