The history and use of cancer registry data by public health cancer control programs in the United States

• Published in: Cancer Vol. 123; no. S24; pp. 4969 - 4976
• Main Authors: White, Mary C., Babcock, Frances, Hayes, Nikki S., Mariotto, Angela B., Wong, Faye L., Kohler, Betsy A., Weir, Hannah K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 15-12-2017
• Subjects: Breast cancer; Cancer; cancer control; cancer history; cancer incidence data; cancer prevention; cancer registries; cancer screening program; cancer surveillance; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.); Cervical cancer; Cervix; Colorectal carcinoma; Control programs; CRCCP; Disease control; Health risk assessment; Health surveillance; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Humans; NBCCEDP; NCCCP; Neoplasms - epidemiology; Neoplasms - prevention & control; Neoplasms - therapy; NPCR; Oncology; population-based survival public health planning; Prevention; Public domain; Public health; Public Health - history; Public Health Surveillance; Registries; SEER; SEER Program - history; Surveillance; Survival; United States - epidemiology; United States > US; cancer prevention; NBCCEDP; population-based survival public health planning; cancer incidence data; cancer registries; NCCCP; cancer surveillance; NPCR; CRCCP; SEER; cancer control; cancer history; cancer screening program
• ISSN: 0008-543X; 1097-0142
• DOI: 10.1002/cncr.30905

Because cancer registry data provide a census of cancer cases, registry data can be used to: 1) define and monitor cancer incidence at the local, state, and national levels; 2) investigate patterns of cancer treatment; and 3) evaluate the effectiveness of public health efforts to prevent cancer cases and improve cancer survival. The purpose of this article is to provide a broad overview of the history of cancer surveillance programs in the United States, and illustrate the expanding ways in which cancer surveillance data are being made available and contributing to cancer control programs. The article describes the building of the cancer registry infrastructure and the successful coordination of efforts among the 2 federal agencies that support cancer registry programs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute, and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries. The major US cancer control programs also are described, including the National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program, the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, and the Colorectal Cancer Control Program. This overview illustrates how cancer registry data can inform public health actions to reduce disparities in cancer outcomes and may be instructional for a variety of cancer control professionals in the United States and in other countries. Cancer 2017;123:4969‐76. Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
This article provides a broad overview of the history of cancer surveillance programs in the United States and the use of cancer registry data for cancer control programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The information in this overview illustrates the ways in which cancer surveillance data can be used to define and monitor burden at the local, state, and national levels and evaluate the effectiveness of public health efforts for cancer control and improved cancer survival.