Perspectives of the certification of organ cancer centers

The certification system of the German Cancer Society has continuously developed over the past years and is now an integral part of oncological care. This article describes the structure of the certification system with its three independently functioning areas and the current number of certified centers in Germany and other countries. The background and the content of the annual benchmarking reports are presented and the way how to improve the quality of cancer care on the basis of guideline-derived quality indicators and annual audits is described. Furthermore, the role of the certification system in European projects, such as CanCon and ECIBC and the work in national projects (e.g. PIAT and StudyBox) are presented. The perspectives and further targets of the certification system with respect to collation of reported results of patients and cooperation with legislative quality assurance systems are described. Research and analysis of the current literature. The system can be useful for the integration of contractual or guideline-based requirements but would not need to relinquish its more comprehensive role.