Hannah K. Weir, Ph.D, Senior Epidemiologist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(NAACCR Steering Committee Chair)
Cancer published a CDC-led journal supplement focused on cancer survival in the US. This supplement was released on Dec 5, 2017 and all articles are open access. Each of the cancer-specific papers in the supplement includes clinical and cancer control perspectives. These perspectives highlight how clinical practice may have had an impact on population-based cancer survival trends, and how states funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program can use population-based survival data, along with incidence and mortality data, to inform cancer control activities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention helps to support a nationwide network of population-based cancer registries that collect information regarding all patients diagnosed with cancer. These data tell a compelling story about the disproportionate burden of lower cancer survival experienced by vulnerable populations, and can be used by state and national partners to inform cancer control activities.
The supplement includes a forward, The essential role of population-based cancer survival in cancer control in the United States (pages 4961-4962) and an introductory article, Population-based Cancer Survival in the United States (2001-2009): findings from the CONCORD-2 study (pages 4963-4968). The introduction provides survival estimates by race (black, white), state of residence at diagnosis, and stage at diagnosis for nine solid tumors in adults (stomach, colon, rectum, liver, lung, female breast, cervix, ovary and prostate cancer) and for acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children. Data are from 37 statewide cancer registries that participated in the CONCORD-2 study covering 80% of the US population.
One of the original articles may be of particular interest to the cancer surveillance community, The history and use of cancer registry data by public health cancer control programs in the United States (pages 4969-4976). This article covers a broad overview of the history and use of cancer registry data for cancer control programs. This article details how cancer registry data can be used to inform public health action.
The entire Cancer supplement, Population-based Cancer Survival in the United States (2001-2009): findings from
the CONCORD-2 study can be accessed at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.v123.S24/issuetoc
“The papers in this supplement show large, consistent and persistent racial disparities for many leading cancers diagnosed in the United States.” said Hannah Weir, PhD, in CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control. “These disparities underscore the need for more targeted efforts to ensure that all people receive recommended cancer screening and that all cancer patients receive timely and appropriate high-quality treatment.”
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and may not represent the official positions of NAACCR.
