Alternative Methods for Determining Cancer Incidence and Survival in the United States

摘要

The descriptive incidence data for the Cancer Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program are obtained from a group of population based registries covering defined geographic areas which record for each cancer patient pertinent data on a standard list of characteristics including age, race, sex, place of residence, cancer site, and histologic type. These requistries periodically produce statistical reports and supply data on individual patients in accordance with a uniform code. At present there are 14 cooperating units covering portions of the U.S. which were selected based on a number of factors including geographic location and state of readiness of the registries. This project assessed the SEER Program with respect to adequacy of population coverage for obtaining accurate estimates of cancer incidence and patient survival for the soundness of the methods used for deriving the required data. The contractor identified areas of program management and operation that deserve attention and assessed several alternative approaches to obtaining needed information. These were rejected. The SEER approach will be retained with some revisions.