Dictionary
A
AAPC: Average Annual Percent Changes are based on the APCs calculated by the Joinpoint Regression Program. To learn more about computing AAPCs see link.
APC: Annual Percent Change used to measure trend or the change in rate over time
Age-Adjusted Rate: an age-adjusted incidence or mortality rate is a weighted average of the age-specific incidence or mortality rates where the weights are the proportions of persons in the corresponding age groups of a standard million population. Age adjustment minimizes the effect of a difference in age distributions when comparing rates. For State Cancer Profiles, all incidence and mortality rates are age-adjusted to the 2000 US standard million population to facilitate comparison of rates across geographic areas and demographic groups.
B
Body Mass Index (BMI): a measure of body fat based upon height and weight. The index applies to both men and women.
Brain & ONS: ONS stands for Other Nervous System. We combine brain and other nervous system together as one cancer site grouping - Brain and ONS. This includes two groupings: Brain and Cranial Nerves Other Nervous System.
C
Colonoscopy: An examination of the inside of the colon using a thin, lighted tube (called a colonoscope) inserted into the rectum. If abnormal areas are seen, tissue can be removed and examined under a microscope to determine whether disease is present.
Colorectal: Having to do with the colon or the rectum.
Crowding: Households with > 1 person/room: A housing unit is often considered crowded if it has more than one person to a room. (The number of persons per room is calculated for a household by dividing the number of occupants by the number of rooms.)
For more detailed information on this topic, please see the SEER County Attributes web page or the data.census.gov platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau.
D
Death Rate: deaths per year per 100,000 persons
E
Education: Source: U. S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/data.html.
Education: Bachelor's Degree: Persons with a Bachelor's Degree or Higher are those who have received a bachelor's degree from a college or university, or a master's, professional, or doctorate degree. Data includes only persons 25 years old and over. The percentages are obtained by dividing the counts of graduates by the total number of persons 25 years old and over.
For more detailed information on this topic, please see the SEER County Attributes web page or the data.census.gov platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Education: High School Graduates: High School Graduates include people whose highest degree was a high school diploma or its equivalent, people who attended college or professional school, and persons who received a college, university, or professional degree. Persons who reported completing the 12th grade but not receiving a diploma are not high school graduates. Data includes only persons 25 years old and over. The percentages are obtained by dividing the counts of graduates by the total number of persons 25 years old and over.
For more detailed information on this topic, please see the SEER County Attributes web page or the data.census.gov platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Education: Less than 9th Grade: These statistics include people whose highest level of educational attainment was any of the following: nursery school, kindergarten, and elementary school (1st to 8th grades). Data includes only persons 25 years old and over.
For more detailed information on this topic, please see the SEER County Attributes web page or the data.census.gov platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau.
F
Family: A group of two or more people who reside together and who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption.
For more detailed information on this topic, please see the SEER County Attributes web page or the data.census.gov platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Fecal Occult Blood Test: A screening test for cancers of the colon or rectum that checks for blood in stool. (Fecal refers to stool; occult means hidden.)
Food Access: Food Insecurity: Food insecurity is defined by the United States Department of Agriculture as the lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life. For more detailed information on this topic, please see Feeding America: Map the Meal Gap.
Food Access: Limited Access to Healthy Foods: A percentage of population who are low-income and do not live close to a grocery store. For more detailed information, please visit the USDA Food Environment Atlas.
H
Healthy People 2030: Healthy People identifies public health priorities to help individuals, organizations, and communities across the United States improve health and well-being. Healthy People 2030, the initiative's fifth iteration, builds on knowledge gained over the first 4 decades.
Hispanic: Hispanic data include all people who identify themselves as being of Hispanic origin. Hispanic ethnicity is considered independently of race, so Hispanic persons may be of any race. Incidence data for Hispanics are based on NAACCR Hispanic Identification Algorithm (NHIA). More information can be found at the SEER web site and the NAACCR web site
For state exclusions that are used when producing Hispanic mortality rates, see Policy for Calculating Hispanic Mortality.
Household: A household includes all the people who occupy a housing unit as their usual place of residence.
For more detailed information on this topic, please see the SEER County Attributes web page or the data.census.gov platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau.
I
In Situ Cancer: Early cancer that has not spread to neighboring tissue.
Incidence Rate: the number of newly diagnosed cancers per year per 100,000 persons.
Income: 'Total income' is the sum of the amounts reported separately for wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, or tips; self-employment income from own nonfarm or farm businesses, including proprietorships and partnerships; interest, dividends, net rental income, royalty income, or income from estates and trusts; Social Security or Railroad Retirement income; Supplemental Security Income (SSI); any public assistance or welfare payments from the state or local welfare office; retirement, survivor, or disability pensions; and any other sources of income received regularly such as Veterans' (VA) payments, unemployment compensation, child support, or alimony.
For more detailed information on this topic, please see the SEER County Attributes web page or the data.census.gov platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Income: Median Family Income: Family income is the sum of money received in the calendar year by all family members residing together, not including non-relatives. Data are limited to the household population and exclude the population living in institutions, college dormitories, and other group quarters. The median income divides the income distribution into two equal groups, one having incomes above the median, and other having incomes below the median.
For more detailed information on this topic, please see the SEER County Attributes web page or the data.census.gov platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Income: Median Household Income: Household income is the sum of money income received in the calendar year by all household members 15 years old and over, including household members not related to the householder, people living alone, and other nonfamily household members. Included in the total are amounts reported separately for wage or salary income; net self-employment income; interest, dividends, or net rental or royalty income or income from estates and trusts; Social Security or Railroad Retirement income; Supplemental Security Income (SSI); public assistance or welfare payments; retirement, survivor, or disability pensions; and all other income. The median income divides the income distribution into two equal groups, one having incomes above the median, and other having incomes below the median.
For more detailed information on this topic, please see the SEER County Attributes web page or the data.census.gov platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Insurance: Source: US Census Bureau Small Area Health Insurance Estimates
https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/sahie.html
Interval Color: Color on the map that the state or county is represented by as well as other values in that range.
Interval Range: Range of values that the state or county has been grouped with.
Invasive Cancer: Cancer that has spread beyond the layer of tissue in which it developed and is growing into surrounding, healthy tissues. Also called infiltrating cancer. Incidence data on this site is invasive unless otherwise noted as in situ.
J
Joinpoint: statistical software for the analysis of trends using a joinpoint regression model, that is, models describe the trends by a sequence of connected straight line segments.
L
Lifetime Risk: the probability of developing or dying of cancer.
M
Malignant: Cancerous. Malignant tumors can invade and destroy nearby tissue and spread to other parts of the body.
Mammography: The use of x-rays to create a picture of the breast.
Mobility: The American Community Survey (ACS) and the Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS) ask respondents age 1 year and over whether they lived in the same residence 1 year ago. For people who lived in a different residence, the location of their previous residence is collected. ACS uses a series of monthly samples to produce estimates. Estimates for geographies of population 65,000 or greater are published annually using these monthly samples. Three years of monthly samples are needed to publish estimates for geographies of 20,000 or greater and five years for smaller geographies. The 5-year dataset is used for the county-to-county migration flows since many counties have a population less than 20,000. The first 5-year ACS dataset covers the years 2005 through 2009.
For more detailed information on this topic, please see the SEER County Attributes web page or the data.census.gov platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Mobility: Haven't moved (in last yr): Persons who responded that they lived in the same residence 1 year ago.
Mobility: Moved from Outside US: Persons who responded that they did not live in the same residence one year ago and the previous residence was not in the US.
Mobility: Moved, Different County this State: Persons who responded that they did not live in the same residence and their previous residence was in the same state but a different county within that state.
Mobility: Moved, Different State: Persons who responded that they did not live in the same residence and their previous residence was in a different state.
Mobility: Moved, Same County: Persons who responded that they did not live in the same residence and their previous residence was in the same county.
Mortality: death
Mortality Rate: the number of deaths per year per 100,000 persons
N
NHIA: NAACCR Hispanic Identification Algorithm: Hispanic is not mutually exclusive from Whites, Blacks, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and American Indians/Alaska Natives. Incidence data for Hispanics are based on NAACCR Hispanic Identification Algorithm (NHIA). More information can be found at the SEER web site and the NAACCR web site (PDF)
National Cancer Institute: NCI. The National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, is the Federal Government's principal agency for cancer research.
National Program of Cancer Registries: NPCR. Congress established The National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) in 1992 by enacting the Cancer Registries Amendment Act.
Non-English Language: Language isolation: A linguistically isolated household is one in which no member 14 years old and over (1) speaks only English or (2) speaks a non-English language and speaks English 'very well.' In other words, all members 14 years old and over have at least some difficulty with English. Data is shown as a percentage of households.
For more detailed information on this topic, please see the SEER County Attributes web page or the data.census.gov platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau.
O
Brain & ONS: ONS stands for Other Nervous System. We combine brain and other nervous system together as one cancer site grouping - Brain and ONS. This includes two groupings: Brain and Cranial Nerves Other Nervous System.
P
Pap smear: The collection of cells from the cervix for examination under a microscope. It is used to detect changes that may be cancer or may lead to cancer, and can show noncancerous conditions, such as infection or inflammation. Also called a Pap test.
Population
Population: Age 65 and Older: These data are derived from estimates of the resident population of all U.S counties and county equivalents by single years of age (age 0, 1, 2,....85 and over) for July 1 of the reference year, for years since 2000, or for April 1 for 2000.
For more detailed information on this topic, please see the SEER County Attributes web page or the data.census.gov platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Population: American Indian/Alaskan Native: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment.
For more detailed information on this topic, please see the SEER County Attributes web page or the data.census.gov platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Population: Asian / Pacific Islander: Asian is defined as a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. It includes "Asian Indian," "Chinese," "Filipino," "Korean," "Japanese," "Vietnamese," and "Other Asian." Pacific Islander is defined as a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. It includes people who indicate their race as "Native Hawaiian," "Guamanian or Chamorro," "Samoan," and "Other Pacific Islander."
For more detailed information on this topic, please see the SEER County Attributes web page or the data.census.gov platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Population: Black: A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as "Black, African Am., or Negro," or provide written entries such as African American, Afro American, Kenyan, Nigerian, or Haitian.
For more detailed information on this topic, please see the SEER County Attributes web page or the data.census.gov platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Population: Foreign Born: Foreign-born persons include all people who indicated they were either a U.S. citizen by naturalization or they were not a citizen of the United States. Persons born abroad of American parents or born in Puerto Rico or other U.S. Island Areas are not considered foreign born. The percentage shown is obtained by dividing the count of foreign-born persons by the total population.
For more detailed information on this topic, please see the SEER County Attributes web page or the data.census.gov platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Population: Hispanic: Hispanic data include all people who identify themselves as being of Hispanic origin. Hispanic ethnicity is considered independently of race, so Hispanic persons may be of any race. Incidence data for Hispanics are based on NAACCR Hispanic Identification Algorithm (NHIA). More information can be found at the SEER web site, the data.census.gov platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau, and the NAACCR web site (PDF)
Population: Under 18: These data are derived from estimates of the resident population of all U.S counties and county equivalents by single years of age (age 0, 1, 2,....85 and over) for July 1 of the reference year, for years since 2000, or for April 1 for 2000.
For more detailed information on this topic, please see the SEER County Attributes web page or the data.census.gov platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Poverty
Persistent Poverty: areas with a poverty rate of 20.0 percent or more for 4 consecutive time periods, about 10 years apart, spanning approximately 30 years (baseline time period plus 3 evaluation time periods. Data is from Economic Research Service.
Poverty: Families/Persons Below Poverty: Families and persons are classified as below poverty if their total family income or unrelated individual income was less than the poverty threshold specified for the applicable family size, age of householder, and number of related children under 18 present. The Census Bureau uses the federal government's official poverty definition.
If the total income of a person's family is less than the threshold appropriate for that family, then the person is considered poor, together with every member of his or her family. If a person is not living with anyone related by birth, marriage, or adoption, then the person's own income is compared with his or her poverty threshold.
The poverty thresholds are updated every year to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index. The poverty thresholds are the same for all parts of the country they are not adjusted for regional, state or local variations in the cost of living.
Poverty status is not determined for institutionalized people, people in military group quarters, people in college dormitories, and unrelated individuals under 15 years old. These groups were excluded from the numerator and denominator when calculating the percent of persons below poverty.
For more detailed information on this topic, please see the SEER County Attributes web page,the poverty section of the Census Web site or the data.census.gov platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Poverty: Persons Below 150% of Poverty: Families and persons are classified as below poverty if their total family income or unrelated individual income was less than the poverty threshold specified for the applicable family size, age of householder, and number of related children under 18 present. The Census Bureau uses the federal government's official poverty definition.
If the total income of a person's family is less than the threshold appropriate for that family, then the person is considered poor, together with every member of his or her family. If a person is not living with anyone related by birth, marriage, or adoption, then the person's own income is compared with his or her poverty threshold. If their income is less than half their poverty threshold, they are below 50% of poverty; less than the threshold itself, they are in poverty (below 100% of poverty); less than 1.25 times the threshold, below 125% of poverty, and so on. The greater the ratio of income to poverty, the more people fall under the category, because higher ratios include more people with higher incomes.
The poverty thresholds are updated every year to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index. The poverty thresholds are the same for all parts of the country they are not adjusted for regional, state or local variations in the cost of living.
Poverty status is not determined for institutionalized people, people in military group quarters, people in college dormitories, and unrelated individuals under 15 years old. These groups were excluded from the numerator and denominator when calculating the percent of persons below poverty.
For more detailed information on this topic, please see the SEER County Attributes web page,the poverty section of the Census Web site or the data.census.gov platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Prevalence: The number of new and pre-existing cases alive on a certain date
R
Rate: cases or deaths per 100,000 persons
S
SEER: Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results is a collection of population-based cancer registries in the United States which collect and submit cancer incidence and follow up data to the National Cancer Institute. The National Cancer Act of 1971 mandated the collection, analysis, and dissemination of data useful in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer leading to the establishment of the SEER Program.
SEER 12: The reporting areas included as "SEER 12" are the SEER 9 areas plus Los Angeles, San Jose-Monterey, and the Alaska Native Registry with data available since 1992.
SEER 9: The reporting areas included as "SEER 9" are the States of Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, New Mexico, and Utah and four metropolitan areas -- Detroit, Michigan, Atlanta, Georgia, San Francisco-Oakland, California, and Seattle-Puget Sound, Washington. Data from these areas are used to calculate long-term incidence trends and survival.
SEER Registries: geographic areas were selected for inclusion in the SEER Program based on their ability to operate and maintain a high quality population-based cancer reporting system and for their epidemiologically significant population subgroups
SEER*Stat: software used with the SEER public-use file over the Internet or as a PC desktop system for production of a myriad of cancer statistics, such as incidence rates and survival rates, for various demographic and medical input variables.
Sigmoidoscopy: inspection of the lower colon using a thin, lighted tube called a sigmoidoscope. Samples of tissue or cells may be collected for examination under a microscope. Also called proctosigmoidoscopy.
Survival: the proportion of patients alive at some point subsequent to the diagnosis of their cancer
T
Trend: change in rate over time expressed as an annual percent change
U
US (SEER+NPCR): Cancer Statistics includes incidence data from CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries and NCI’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program.
United States: depending on the data source, the US can be either the total US or a subsection of the US based upon the SEER Registries
United States (SEER): a subsection of the US based upon the SEER Registries. SEER 9 represents approximately 10% of the US population and SEER 12 represents approximately 12% of the US population.
United States (SEER+NPCR): Data are from selected statewide and metropolitan area cancer registries that meet the data quality criteria for all invasive cancer sites combined. See registry-specific data quality information. Rates cover approximately 96% of the U.S. population.
W
Workforce: Unemployed: All civilians 16 years old and over are classified as unemployed if they (1) were neither 'at work' nor 'with a job but not at work' during the reference week, and (2) were actively looking for work during the last 4 weeks, and (3) were available to accept a job. Also included as unemployed are civilians who did not work at all during the reference week, were waiting to be called back to a job from which they had been laid off, and were available for work except for temporary illness.
For more detailed information on this topic, please see the SEER County Attributes web page or the data.census.gov platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Workforce: White Collar: Percent White Collar is calculated as a percentage of the employed civilian population 16 years and over, and includes those employed in management, professional and related occupations, fire fighting, prevention and law enforcement workers, including supervisors.
For more detailed information on this topic, please see the SEER County Attributes web page or the data.census.gov platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau.