Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results

The Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results Program [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/] (SEER) of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) is an authoritative source of information on cancer incidence and survival in the United States. SEER currently collects and publishes cancer incidence and survival data from population-based cancer registries covering approximately 26 percent of the US population. SEER coverage includes 23 percent of African Americans, 40 percent of Hispanics, 42 percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives, 53 percent of Asians, and 70 percent of Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders. (Details are provided in the table: Number of Persons by Race and Hispanic Ethnicity for SEER Participants. [http://seer.cancer.gov/registries/data.html] ) The SEER Program registries [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/registries/] routinely collect data on patient demographics, primary tumor site, tumor morphology and stage at diagnosis, first course of treatment, and follow-up for vital status. The SEER Program is the only comprehensive source of population-based information in the United States that includes stage of cancer at the time of diagnosis and patient survival data.

SEER began collecting data on cancer cases on January 1, 1973, in the states of Connecticut [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/registries/connecticut.html] , Iowa [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/registries/iowa.html] , New Mexico [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/registries/new_mexico.html] , Utah [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/registries/utah.html] , and Hawaii [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/registries/hawaii.html] and the metropolitan areas of Detroit [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/registries/detroit.html] and San Francisco-Oakland [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/registries/sfo.html] . In 1974-1975, the metropolitan area of Atlanta [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/registries/atlanta.html] and the 13-county Seattle-Puget Sound [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/registries/sps.html] area were added. In 1978, 10 predominantly black rural counties in Georgia [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/registries/rural_ga.html] were added, followed in 1980 by the addition of American Indians residing in Arizona [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/registries/arizona.html] . Three additional geographic areas participated in the SEER program prior to 1990: New Orleans, Louisiana (1974-1977, rejoined 2001); New Jersey (1979- 1989, rejoined 2001); and Puerto Rico (1973-1989). The National Cancer Institute also funds a cancer registry that, with technical assistance from SEER, collects information on cancer cases among Alaska Native populations residing in Alaska [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/registries/alaska.html] . In 1992, the SEER Program was expanded to increase coverage of minority populations, especially Hispanics, by adding Los Angeles County [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/registries/los_angeles.html] and four counties in the San Jose-Monterey [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/registries/sjm.html] area south of San Francisco. In 2001, the SEER Program expanded coverage [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/about/expansion.html] to include Kentucky [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/registries/kentucky.html] and the remaining counties in California (Greater California) [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/registries/california.html] ; in addition, New Jersey [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/registries/new_jersey.html] and Louisiana [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/registries/louisiana.html] once again became participants. For the expansion registries (Kentucky, Greater California, New Jersey, and Louisiana), NCI funds are combined with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through the National Program of Cancer Registries [http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/npcr/] and with funding from the states.

NCI staff work with the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries [http://www.naaccr.org/] (NAACCR) to guide all state registries to achieve data content and compatibility acceptable for pooling data and improving national estimates. The SEER team is developing computer applications to unify cancer registration systems [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/seerdms/] and to analyze and disseminate population-based data [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/resources/] . Use of surveillance data for research is being improved through Web-based access to the data and analytic tools [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/canques/] , and linking with other national data sources. For example, a new Web-based tool for public health officials and policy makers, State Cancer Profiles [http://statecancerprofiles.cancer.gov/] , provides a user-friendly interface for finding cancer statistics for specific states and counties. This Web site is a joint project between NCI and CDC and is part of the Cancer Control PLANET [http://cancercontrolplanet.cancer.gov/] Web site which provides links to comprehensive cancer control resources for public health professionals.

The SEER Program is considered the standard for quality among cancer registries around the world. Quality control [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/qi/index.html] has been an integral part of SEER since its inception. Every year, studies [http://www.seer.cancer.gov/qi/tools/index.html] are conducted in SEER areas to evaluate the quality and completeness of the data being reported.

External links

* [http://seer.cancer.gov/ SEER]