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ODS Exam Prep Activities

NCRA offers candidates several online educational tools to prepare for the ODS Exam, including an online practice test and the Online ODS Prep Archived Workshop sessions. There are also several publications available to assist in preparing for the exam, including the NCRA Study Guide for the ODS Exam, 2026 Edition and the Cancer Registry Management: Principles and Practices for Hospitals and Central Registries, Fourth Edition textbook.

To learn more about the exam, including upcoming testing dates, locations, eligibility requirements, and resources, click on the fact sheet below and visit the ODS Exam Website.

Note: NCRA makes no claims that by using any of its study tools, a candidate will pass the examination.

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ODS Exam Prep Activities to Practice and Test Your Knowledge

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NCRA's Online Cancer Case Studies Activity (Eighth Edition)

NCRA's Online Case Studies Activity has 15 case studies (bladder, breast, colon/rectum, kidney, lung, prostate, and renal pelvis) and provides more opportunities to practice assigning stage using the eighth edition manual. Updated January 2026.

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ODS Exam Online Practice Test (One Time Access)

How much do you know? Use NCRA's Online ODS Exam Practice Test to assess your knowledge and understanding of the content areas for the 2026 exam.
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ODS Exam Online Practice Test (60 Days-Unlimited Access)

How much do you know? Use NCRA's Online ODS Exam Practice Test to assess your knowledge and understanding of the content areas for the 2026 exam.

2026 ODS Exam Prep Archived Webinars

These 90-minute recorded presentations are designed to prepare candidates for the Oncology Data Specialist (ODS) exam. Developed and facilitated by a team of experienced ODS-credentialled educators and allied-health professionals, the presentations review all aspects of the exam’s core competencies for the 2026 ODS Exam.

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Part I: Casefinding and Solid Tumor Rules (STR)

Review casefinding guidelines and methods and discuss the Solid Tumor Rules, general instructions, equivalent terms and definitions, multiple primary rules, and histology rules.
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Part II: Abstracting & Coding I

Review the STORE Manual and assigning site-specific surgery codes.
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Part III: Abstracting & Coding II

Review of staging systems and their use (TNM, Summary Stage), diagnostic and staging procedures, and prognostic indicators.
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Part IV: Abstracting & Coding III

Review of standard of care treatment guidelines, STORE radiation instructions, first-course treatment vs. subsequent treatment, coding first-course surgical treatment, and systemic therapies.
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Part V: Follow-Up, Registry Organization, and Operations

Review the functions of hospital and central registry registries, follow-up principles and processes, confidentiality, legal requirements, and HIPAA regulations.
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Part VI: Data Usage, Analysis and Quality Assurance

Review the fundamentals of statistics, statistical validity, survival analysis principles, database management, epidemiology principles, quality control plan elements, and quality assurance techniques.
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Part VII: Cancer Program Accreditations

The faculty will review the Commission on Cancer (CoC) program accreditation and the standards. They will also address the role of the Cancer Committee and the Cancer Conference.

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