Cancer Registries - How to Submit Data to MCRS

Minnesota statutes and rules require facility-based cancer registries to submit registry case reports to the Minnesota Cancer Reporting System (MCRS). The MCRS will use the data to accomplish its mission to promote, protect, maintain, and improve the health of all Minnesotans by tracking the occurrence of cancer within the state of Minnesota.
This webpage contains the necessary specifications for the implementation or continuation of electronic data submissions from a cancer registry to the MCRS.

Useful Links

• MCRS Public Notice of Required Data Items (PDF)
• MCRS reportability dates (PDF) for specific cancer sites, 1988 to date.
• List of the reporting requirements, exclusions, acronyms and ambiguous terms. Reportable list - Reporting Requirements (PDF).
• The North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR) provides standards for cancer registries. NAACCR standards intended for hospital and central cancer registries, please visit the NAACCR Central Cancer Registries, Data Standards & Data Dictionary, Volume II page.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) produces guides for reportable ICD 10 CM codes. These excel files contain “core” and “expanded” lists of ICD-10 codes that indicate a cancer diagnosis. Note: MCRS requires the "expanded" list. Visit Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Program of Cancer Registries: Advancing Electronic Reporting.

Reporting Format and Edit Sets (metafiles)

MCRS accepts NAACCR Version 21 and greater. Files must be submitted in NAACCR XML format. Cases diagnosed in 2022 must be in NAACCR version 22 XML format. Cases diagnosed in 2023 must be in NAACCR version 23 XML format.

There are no MCRS-specific data items or metafile for 2022 or 2023. We ask that registries use the latest version available of the NAACCR metafile and the corresponding NAACCR data dictionary.  All edits should be reviewed and corrected, or justified in the relevant text field, before submitting a file, and text should be present to justify every coded value.

Please contact MCRS with any questions.

Transmission of Files

There are two ways that registry files can be transmitted securely from the cancer registry to the MCRS:

1. Utilize the Public Health Information Network Messaging System (PHINMS), a free and secure data transfer software package created by the CDC. The PHINMS software ensures that data transmission is performed securely, encrypted properly while automating retries, guaranteeing delivery once and only once, and using a standard HTTPS port (443) that is supported by most organizational firewalls. For information on PHINMS messaging, visit the CDC’s PHIN Messaging System page.
2. The Minnesota Department of Health supplies a File Transfer webpage. This is an application for external partners to securely share files with specific contacts at the department. The MDH File Transfer website requires a username and password to access the application. To obtain credentials and instructions for the website please send an email to health.mcrs.upload@state.mn.us

Contact Us

For general questions about sending files to MCRS, please call 651-201-5900 or email health.mcrs.upload@state.mn.us.

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