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NIH
U.S. National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute

Historical Landmark Studies in Epidemiology

The area of cancer epidemiology has benefited immensely from the SEER network, a key resource not only for descriptive and correlational studies of cancer in the United States, but also for population-based case-control and cohort studies. SEER is often where changes in cancer incidence and death rates are first detected, stimulating additional epidemiologic investigation to reveal the cause. In the last 30 years, SEER has significantly helped to increase the depth and breadth of epidemiologic studies to include environmental exposures, geographic determinants, diet, reproductive factors, physical activity, genetic factors, and biological determinants of disease.