About U.S. Cancer Statistics

The United States Cancer Statistics are the official federal cancer statistics. These statistics include cancer registry data from CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) and the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, as well as mortality data from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. The statistics provide information on newly diagnosed cancer cases and cancer deaths for the whole U.S. population.

This national coverage enables the public, including researchers, clinicians, policy makers, and public health professionals, to—

• Monitor populations most affected by cancer.
• Evaluate the success of programs designed to prevent cancer and diagnose cancer at early stages.
• Identify additional needs for cancer prevention and control efforts at national, state, and local levels.

National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR)

The CDC-funded NPCR is a population-based surveillance system of cancer registries established in 1992. NPCR supports the collection of high-quality data by central cancer registries through funding, technical assistance, and the development of software for collecting and processing data. NPCR works to release the data in accessible, discoverable, and usable formats. Through NPCR, CDC supports central cancer registries in 46 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Pacific Island Jurisdictions, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program

The NCI-funded SEER Program was established in 1973 and is a population-based surveillance system that collects data from various cancer registries. SEER is an authoritative source of information on cancer incidence and survival in the United States. One of SEER’s goals is to provide resources to the general research community, including data files and software to facilitate the analysis of data. SEER collects and publishes cancer incidence and survival data from population-based cancer registries in 22 U.S. geographic areas.

Partners

Partners 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.

U.S. Cancer Statistics Fact Sheet

The U.S. Cancer Statistics are the official federal cancer statistics, providing information on incidence (new cases) and mortality (deaths) in the United States.

Suggested Citations

Suggested citations for the U.S. Cancer Statistics Data Visualizations Tool and the Public Use Databases.

Other Tools

Tools that provide statistics on cancer incidence and mortality.

Glossary

Glossary of terms and acronyms related to U.S. Cancer Statistics.