Aug. 31, 2026
Congratulations to the Missouri Cancer Registry and Research Center (MCR) on another year of national recognition through the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR). Following the 2025 data submission, the MCR earned NAACCR Gold Certification as well as the 2025 Registry of Excellence award.
These distinctions recognize the MCR team’s ongoing efforts to maintain high-quality reporting and meet national standards while providing reliable data for cancer surveillance, prevention, control and public health decision-making.
Iris Zachary, director of the MCR, thanked partners with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and the MU Department of Public Health, citing their support as essential for continued success.
To receive Gold Certification, a cancer registry’s data must meet the following requirements:
- At least 95% case ascertainment completeness.
- Fewer than 3% death-certificate-only cases.
- Fewer than 0.1% duplicate cases.
- 100% accuracy for key variables used in incidence statistics.
- Minimal missing information for age, sex, county and race.
- Submission to NAACCR within 23 months of the close of the diagnosis year.
In addition, the MCR received the U.S. Cancer Statistics Registry for Surveillance recognition. The latest U.S. Cancer Statistics data — which includes all information collected in Missouri — is available through several interactive data visualization tools.