The first national cancer registry program was established by

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SEER, the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program, was established by the National Cancer Institute in 1973 to create a nationwide cancer registry. It began as a collaborative network of population-based registries that collected data on cancer incidence, stage at diagnosis, initial treatment, and survival, with the goal of generating reliable national statistics. This work provided a consistent, high-quality data foundation for understanding cancer trends, survival, and disparities, and it set the model for national cancer data in the United States. The National Program of Cancer Registries, started by the CDC in the 1990s, expanded state registry coverage; USCS later combines SEER and NPCR data to publish national statistics. The American College of Surgeons has supported registry efforts, but the first nationwide registry program originated with SEER.