Using U.S. Cancer Registry Data: A Literature Review

A CDC-conducted literature review of data published from statewide cancer registries in the United States has identified 293 articles representing data from 38 states and one territory (highlighted in dark green in map below). Eighty-seven percent (34 of 39) of these statewide cancer registries had been established by the 1980s. Among the 293 articles that included or described statewide cancer-registry data, 84 percent (246 of 293) measured the burden of cancer; 25 percent (72 of 293) guided cancer control program planning and evaluation; 29 percent (86 of 293) prioritized the allocation of health resources in the state; and 55 percent (161 of 293) provided the basis for population-based epidemiologic research.

States Represented in Literature Review

The shaded states are represented in the literature review. These states include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

For more information, visit National Program of Cancer Registries State Program Contact List.

Some specific examples of how statewide cancer-registry data were used include

• Determining public health implications of late-stage diagnosis of breast cancer in women of lower socioeconomic status



• Determining the incidence of cutaneous melanoma among non-Hispanic whites, Hispanics, Asians, and blacks



• Examining black versus white differences in clinical stage at diagnosis and treatment of prostatic cancer



• Determining differences in stage of breast and gynecologic cancers among whites, blacks, and Hispanics when they sought care



• Examining variation in breast and lung cancer risk by occupation