SEER

The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results programme of the United States National Cancer Institute, serving as an authoritative source of population-based cancer statistics that tracks cancer incidence, survival, prevalence, and mortality across defined geographic areas representing a significant portion of the American population. Since its establishment in 1973, the programme has collected comprehensive clinical and demographic data on cancer cases from registries covering multiple states and metropolitan areas, creating one of the most comprehensive cancer surveillance systems in the world. Researchers, epidemiologists, public health officials, and clinicians rely on the data to analyse temporal trends in cancer occurrence, evaluate disparities by race, ethnicity, age, and geography, measure the effectiveness of cancer control interventions, and project future cancer burden. The publicly available databases include incidence data with detailed tumour characteristics such as primary site, histology, stage at diagnosis, and first course of treatment, as well as survival data calculated using actuarial and relative survival methods. Standardised data collection protocols and quality control procedures ensure consistency and comparability across registries and over time. The programme publishes annual statistical reports and collaborates with the American Cancer Society and the Centres for Disease Control on the annual report to the nation on the status of cancer. Custom data analysis tools allow researchers to generate custom tables, maps, and survival curves directly from the website. The programme also develops and maintains coding systems and software tools used by cancer registries worldwide.