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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR)

Supplier
CDC/NCCDPHP
Years Available
2001 to present
Periodicity
Annual
Mode of Collection
Census: abstraction of data from medical records.
Description
Population-based central cancer registries are data systems that collect, manage, and analyze data about cancer cases and cancer deaths. In each geographical area, medical facilities report these data to a central cancer registry. The National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) provides financial and technical support to these central cancer registries and collects data on the occurrence of cancer; the type, extent, and location of the cancer, and the type of initial treatment. Central cancer registries in 46 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the U.S. Pacific Island Jurisdictions (Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Republic of Palau) participate in NPCR, covering 97 percent of the U.S. population. Together, NPCR and the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) collect data for the entire U.S. population. Cancer statistics are presented online in charts, maps, and tables.
Selected Content
Incidence and prevalence of cancer by site; deaths and survival rates; state and county statistics; demographics; and trends over time.
Population Covered
The central registries participating in the NPCR cover 97% of the U.S. population.
Methodology
Medical facilities such as hospitals, doctor's offices, and pathology laboratories send information about cancer cases to their cancer registry. Most information comes from hospitals where highly trained employees called cancer registrars transfer the information from the patient's medical record to the registry's computer software using standardized codes. The data are then sent to the central cancer registry. States and territories participating in NPCR submit incidence data. NPCR and SEER together compile national cancer statistics from data submitted to these central registries.
References
Cancer Prevention and Control, CDC
https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/