Contributors

National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR)

CDC's National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) funds 50 cancer registries: 46 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Pacific Island Jurisdictions, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

NPCR is committed to:

• Monitoring the state and national burden of cancer.
• Identifying variation in cancer incidence for racial and ethnic populations and for regions within a state, between states, and between regions.
• Providing data for research.
• Providing guidance for the allocation of health resources.
• Responding to public concerns and inquiries about cancer.
• Improved planning for future health care needs.
• Evaluating activities in cancer prevention and control.

In January 2001, NPCR-funded registries began reporting their incidence data annually to CDC. The registries report data to CDC beginning with cases diagnosed in the first year for which they collected data with the assistance of NPCR funds. Data from the special population cancer registries or the SEER metropolitan area cancer registries operating in Alaska, Arizona, California, Michigan, and Washington are reported to their respective NPCR state cancer registry for inclusion in those states' incidence data and are transmitted to CDC as part of the state's annual data submission.

In the 2023 data submission, CDC received information on more than 37.9 million invasive cancer cases, and 2.75 million in situ cases diagnosed during 1995 through 2021. In addition, 935,508 benign and borderline brain and central nervous system tumors were reported during 2004 through 2021. More than 1.6 million new invasive cancer cases are added each year.

In conjunction with the annual release of United States Cancer Statistics (USCS) data, NPCR evaluates each funded central cancer registry's data according to NPCR's standards for data completeness, timeliness, and quality. Registry data must meet these standards to be included in USCS data products.

The release of USCS data in products including the Data Visualizations tool and Public Use Databases exemplifies the progress achieved in creating a national system of cancer surveillance. Viewers are able to access locally relevant cancer data at the county and congressional district levels. Since these data are collected using national standards, users can compare information across geographic areas and over time. Data from state and county levels can be used to plan and evaluate cancer control programs, conduct research, and monitor cancer trends.

Partners such as the central cancer registry are crucial to the success of cancer surveillance in the United States. The efforts and achievements of many partner organizations contribute to USCS data products and the advances in cancer surveillance in the United States.

USCS data products include:

• A web-based data visualizations tool that displays USCS data, the official federal cancer statistics.
• Public use databases for researchers to analyze more than 35 million cancer cases.
• A public use data set of pre-calculated cancer incidence and death rates on CDC WONDER.
• Publications on cancer burden.
• A website designed to help guide and prioritize cancer control activities at the state and county level at State Cancer Profiles.
• A restricted-access dataset available to researchers through the National Center for Health Statistics Research Data Center.

Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program

The National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program collects and publishes data on cancer incidence and survival from population-based cancer registries in 22 U.S. geographic areas. SEER registries provide complete coverage for metropolitan regions and special populations whose data are reported to their respective state registries funded by CDC's National Program of Cancer Registries.

The SEER Program continues to:

• Monitor the burden of cancer in the United States.
• Provide statistics on cancer incidence and survival in the SEER coverage area, and mortality in the United States provided by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.
• Monitor cancer incidence trends in geographic and demographic population groups, including diverse racial and ethnic groups.
• Provide detailed information on trends in the extent of disease at diagnosis, therapy, and patient survival.
• Provide data for research.
• Promote studies measuring progress in cancer control and etiology.
• Provide specialty training in epidemiology, biostatistics, surveillance research, tumor registry methodology, operations, and management.
• Respond to public concerns and inquiries on cancer.
• Develop new statistical methods, models, and software for the analysis and presentation of national and small-area statistics.

The mortality data reported by SEER are provided by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. The SEER Program issues a limited-use data set (formerly called the public use data file) for additional analyses by researchers and the public.

In addition to the data sets on the SEER website, NCI disseminates:

• A public use interactive website of pre-calculated cancer incidence rates called SEER*Explorer.
• A public use interactive tool to explore childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer statistics called NCCR*Explorer.
• Cancer statistics fact sheets.

For information about NCI's additional tools and products, visit their Cancer Statistics page.

National Vital Statistics System (NVSS)

The nation's vital statistics are available from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS), which is maintained by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). These vital statistics are provided through state-operated registration systems and are based on vital records filed in state vital statistics offices.

Recording vital events is the responsibility of the individual states and independent registration areas (District of Columbia, New York City, and five territories) in which the event occurs. Legal responsibility for the registration of vital events rests with the individual jurisdictions.

Through its Vital Statistics Cooperative Program, NCHS cooperates with state vital statistics offices to develop and recommend standard forms for data collection, model regulations, and procedures to ensure uniform reporting of the events monitored by the NVSS. Detailed annual data on births, deaths (including infant deaths), and fetal deaths are available for the United States and for states, counties, and other local areas.

The NCHS restricted use data set is obtained annually through NCHS's application process. Data variables include cause of death, age, race, Hispanic origin, sex, marital status, place of birth, residence of decedent, education level, and place of death.

Partners

Those crucial to the success of cancer registration and cancer surveillance in the United States include the American Cancer Society, the American College of Surgeons, the American Joint Committee on Cancer, the National Cancer Registrars Association, and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries.