The Louisiana Tumor Registry at LSU Health New Orleans School of Public Health has been awarded a one-year, $1.8 million contract by the National Cancer Institute, with a potential of $17.7 million total over 10 years, to continue its cancer registry work as part of the SEER Program.
The Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program award includes options for an additional nine years of funding for a total $17.7 million, if all options are exercised. There are now 16 competitively awarded SEER cancer registries in the United States.
The institute’s SEER Program collects cancer incidence and survival data from cancer registries for research.
“In addition to providing essential information for tracking the nation’s progress against cancer, SEER data and data analysis tools provide researchers with unique opportunities to explore and explain cancer trends,” said Robert T. Croyle, director of the institute’s division of cancer control and population sciences. “The impact of SEER on science, policy and practice reflects both the quality of the data collected and the creative expertise of the many scientists who use it.”
The primary function of a cancer registry is to record the occurrence of cancer in a population. Information collected by the registries includes demographic data; tumor characteristics, including cancer type, biomarkers and stage of disease; treatment; and survival. The data often provides clues for special research studies conducted by scientists. The funding awards will broaden the type of research the Louisiana registry can support by enabling the collection of more clinically relevant data to complement clinical trials and basic and translational cancer research.
Dr. Xiao-Cheng Wu, professor and director of the registry, said the 10-year contract will allow the registery to explore new mechanisms to auto extract more clinically relevant data from electronic clinical documents, collect patient-report data, as well as biospecimen samples for cancer research, and will expand the use of registry data through collaborations with researchers.
“The SEER Program is one of the most authoritative sources of information on cancer incidence and survival in the United States,” said Dr. Larry Hollier, chancellor of LSU Health New Orleans. “Continued designation recognizes the excellence of our Louisiana Tumor Registry and confirms the exceptionally high quality of its data.”