Many California hospitals have had their own cancer registries since the 1950's in accordance with guidelines established by the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) and its requirements for accreditation of oncology services. The main purpose of a hospital registry is to provide physicians with the data needed to maintain quality of care through peer review and to compare performance with recognized standards. However, a more comprehensive level of reporting is required by state law and that level is supported by the California Cancer Registry and its statewide database system, Eureka DMS.