The National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) is not population-based; i.e., NCDB is not a population-based registry.

• A. Not sure
• B. Partially
• C. False
• D. True

Answer: (D)

The main idea is understanding how cancer registries are defined: hospital-based versus population-based. The National Cancer Data Base is a hospital-based registry. It collects detailed cancer data from facilities accredited by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, meaning it records cases treated at those specific hospitals rather than every cancer diagnosed in a defined geographic population. Because it doesn’t aim to capture all incident cases across a region or country, it isn’t population-based.

Population-based registries, like SEER or state cancer registries, strive to include all cancer cases within a defined population, providing incidence and survival data at the population level. NCDB’s strength lies in healthcare quality, treatment patterns, and outcomes within participating hospitals, not in representing every cancer case in the population. So the statement that the NCDB is not population-based is true.