The third edition of the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology (ICD-O-3) was
published by the World Health Organization in December 2000,
after a two-year effort involving
NCI SEER Program staff, the
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, and
oncology coding experts from
England, Singapore, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer based in France. ICD-O-3 was
implemented in the United States for cases diagnosed after January 1, 2001, with SEER Program staff
providing the principal support for dissemination and training. In cooperation with the
North American
Association of Central Cancer Registries and other partners, NCI helped to develop documents discussing
how the implementation issues should be handled both at the hospital registry level and at the central
registry level. Documents prepared for ICD-O-3 have been made available on the SEER web site and have
been downloaded by researchers throughout the world.