Surveillance Research: Cancer Incidence


Finding Statistics Home \| Tables, Graphs, Maps \| Reports \| Tools \| Data Sources

Where can I find Cancer Statistics by Race/Ethnicity?

The NCI has recognized the need to better define the cancer burden in racial/ethnic minorities and medically underserved populations and supports research, applications and surveillance on the full diversity of the United States population. Since its inception in 1973, the the cancer registry system of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program has included large segments of diverse populations. Subsequent expansions increased the proportions of Hispanics, urban African Americans and Asian and Pacific Islanders in Southern California and the Greater Bay Area, rural African Americans in Georgia, northwestern populations in Seattle, Arizona Indians, and Alaska Natives residing in Alaska. A recent expansion in 2001 of four new areas increased coverage of key populations, such as rural low-income whites, more geographically diverse American Indians, rural African-Americans and other Hispanic groups. This addition – the largest expansion to date – brings SEER coverage to 26% of the U.S. population.

The SEER Program collects and publishes cancer incidence and survival data in order to assemble and report estimates of cancer incidence, survival, mortality, other measures of the cancer burden, and patterns of care in the U.S. Statistics from the SEER Program routinely include information specific to race/ethnic populations as well as other populations defined by age, gender, and geography.

Race / Ethnicity

Reports

The SEER Cancer Statistics Review (CSR), 1975-2001 includes cancer statistics by race/ethnicity, sex, age, and year of diagnosis for major cancers. Incidence and mortality statistics by race/ethnicity excerpted from the CSR can be viewed in a separate PDF. To view other statistics, this year's CSR allows you to select specific tables and figures based on statistic type, cancer site, and race/ethnicity. From a list of pages that meet your criteria, you can view individual pages or merge pages into one custom-built PDF. The Complete and Limited Duration Cancer Prevalence Estimates (PDF) chapter of the CSR provides US cancer prevalence estimates as of January 1, 1999, estimated from SEER data. Prevalence estimates are presented by cancer site, race/ethnicity, sex, and years since diagnosis.

Cancer Survival Among US Whites and Minorities (PDF) uses SEER data to describe racial and ethnic patterns of cancer-specific survival and relative risks of cancer death for all cancers combined and for cancers of the colon and rectum, lung and bronchus, prostate, and female breast for the six major US racial and ethnic groups.

State Cancer Profiles is a comprehensive system enabling the investigation of cancer trends at the national, state, and county level.

Annual Report to the Nation provides an update on the trends in cancer incidence and death rates in the United States by age, sex, cancer site, and race/ethnicity.

Prostate Cancer: Racial/Ethnic Patterns from Prostate Cancer Trends, 1973-1995 includes statistics and interpretation for prostate cancer for white, black, Filipino, Hawaiian, Japanese, Native American, and Hispanic populations in the United States.

Racial/Ethnic Patterns of Cancer in the United States, 1988-1992 from Prostate Cancer Trends, 1973-1995 provides a concise description of the occurrence of the major cancers among several different racial/ethnic groups in the United States.

Research Tools

What Tool Should I Use? will help you determine which of these tools is most appropriate for you.

FastStats links to tables, charts, and graphs of cancer statistics for major cancers by age, sex, race/ethnicity, time period, and geographic area. Tables shown by "Expanded race codes" include statistics for whites, blacks, Asian/Pacific Islanders, American Indian/Alaska Natives, and Hispanics.

Cancer Query System: Incidence and Mortality Statistics is a Web-based program that allows you to select statistics by defining various parameters.

SEER*Stat software allows cancer researchers to calculate incidence rates based on SEER or other cancer databases.

Joinpoint can be used to calculate cancer trends by analyzing incidence rates. This is often used to analyze trends in rates calculated by SEER*Stat.

Surveillance Research \| Cancer Statistics Branch \| Statistical Research & Applications Branch
Search \| Contact Surveillance Research \| Accessibility \| Privacy Policy