Cancer Registry Statistics and Epidemiology: The Basics

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About Course

Learn to read and explain cancer registry data with confidence. This beginner course covers the question behind a statistic, case counts and denominators, incidence and mortality, crude and age-adjusted rates, percentages, stage distribution, trends, survival, and chart choice. Practice with a fictional hospital registry dashboard and simple calculations.

Designed for oncology data specialists, cancer program leaders, clinicians, and students who need to interpret data without advanced mathematics. Every example chart is labeled fictional; links to CDC and SEER definitions support further learning.

Course Content

1. What Cancer Registry Statistics Describe
Distinguish a hospital registry from a population registry and choose the population, case definition, time period, and unit of analysis.

  • Begin with the Question and the Denominator

2. Counts, Percentages, and Rates
Calculate simple proportions and crude incidence rates, and learn when a population comparison needs age adjustment.

3. Read the Chart Before Drawing a Conclusion
Use three fictional registry charts to read category counts, time trends, and stage composition while checking axes and denominators.

4. Incidence, Mortality, and Population Trends
Interpret cancer occurrence and death data, age-adjusted comparisons, small numbers, and changes over time.

5. Stage, Treatment, and Survival Data
Read distributions and outcomes with attention to unknown stage, follow-up, selection bias, and the difference between survival and cure.

6. Turn Registry Data into a Clear Brief
Practice checking a data request, selecting a chart, writing a defensible conclusion, and naming limitations.

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