The official cancer numbers, and why they come from two agencies

United States Cancer Statistics (USCS) are the official federal cancer
statistics. They come from combined cancer registry data: the CDC's
National Program of Cancer Registries together with the National Cancer
Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) programme.

Two programmes, one dataset — because neither covers the whole country alone.

The figures

The years differ on purpose: **2023 is the latest year with incidence data and
2024 the latest with mortality data**. Counting new diagnoses takes longer
than counting deaths, so these two numbers always sit a year apart.

What the data is for

Five stated uses, and they are not interchangeable:

• Understand cancer rates and trends
• Support cancer research
• Measure progress in cancer control and prevention
• Focus action on eliminating disparities
• Improve cancer outcomes for all

The fourth is the one that shapes how the data is published. A single national
incidence rate cannot show a disparity; rates broken down by state, race and
ethnicity, sex and age can. That is why the public tools present the same
figures cut several ways rather than as a headline.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.