Analyses Checklist

Multi-year analyses

The database includes variables that can be used to restrict analyses to the states meeting U.S. Cancer Statistics publication criteria during the most commonly analyzed multi-year time periods, specifically:

• All years of data in the database (variable USCS0121 for diagnosis years 2001–2021).
• The most recent 10 years of data (USCS1221 for diagnosis years 2012–2021).
• The most recent 5 years of data (USCS1721 for diagnosis years 2017–2021).

If you are conducting a multi-year analysis and want to restrict it to the states that met publication criteria during each of the years, did you use variable USCS0121, USCS1221, or USCS1721 and also use the Year of Diagnosis variable on the SEER*Stat Selection tab?

• This is important for trend analyses so the same states are included for each year.
• The Year of Diagnosis variable is used in combination with the predefined USCS variable to exclude the non-relevant years. For example, if USCS1721 is used, then Year of Diagnosis should also be restricted to diagnosis years 2017–2021 in the SEER*Stat Selection tab.
• If you would like to analyze a range of years other than those predefined variables, please contact CDC at uscsdata@cdc.gov and we will create a new variable for you.

Single-year analyses

If you are analyzing just 1 year of data, did you use the variable USCS Standard and restrict the analysis to the specific Year of Diagnosis in the SEER*Stat Selection tab?

Common selection and reporting considerations

State-level race, ethnicity, or race/ethnicity combinations

If you are reporting state-level race, ethnicity, or race/ethnicity combinations, have you suppressed data from the registries that opted out of reporting these data items? Race and ethnicity combinations can be excluded using the State Race Ethnicity Suppress variable. Race-only or ethnicity-only suppressions should be done manually in the SEER*Stat Selection tab.

User-defined primary site variable

If a user-defined primary site variable was created (rather than using the Site recode ICD-O-3/WHO 2008 variable):

• Did you exclude leukemias and lymphomas (9590–9992)?
• Did you consider excluding Kaposi sarcoma (9140) and mesothelioma (9050–9055)?

For more information, see the Primary Site Variables description.

Histology

If your analysis includes histology, and if appropriate for the cancer site, did you use the Diagnostic Confirmation variable to specify the analysis be limited to microscopically confirmed cases?

Sex-specific cancers

If you are analyzing sex-specific cancers such as prostate cancer or female breast cancer, did you limit the analysis to the appropriate sex to get the correct population denominator?

Rates

When reporting rates, have you included the label "per 100,000 persons," "per 100,000 women," or "per 100,000 men"?

Citations

Have you included citations for the:

• Percentage of United States population coverage provided by the database?
• U.S. Cancer Statistics 2001–2021 Public Use Research Database?