Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results

The SEER Program is the only comprehensive source of population-based information in the United States that includes stage of cancer at the time of diagnosis and patient survival data.

[1] SEER began collecting data on cancer cases on January 1, 1973,[citation needed] in the states of Connecticut, Iowa, New Mexico, Utah, Hawaii, and the metropolitan areas of Detroit and San Francisco-Oakland.

By 2001 the program included information on major population centers in Georgia, Washington, Louisiana, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, Alaska, California, Kentucky.

The SEER team is developing computer applications to unify cancer registration systems and to analyze and disseminate population-based data.

[6] Every year, studies are conducted in SEER areas to evaluate the quality and completeness of the data being reported.