Patterns of Care (POC) Studies

Background

The Patterns of Care (POC) initiative has three inter-related goals, which are to:

  • Evaluate the dissemination of state-of-the-art cancer therapy and diagnostics into community oncology practice,
  • Identify patient-, provider-, and system-level factors that are associated with receipt and utilization of cancer care; and
  • Disseminate findings through scientific publications and presentations.

POC studies began in 1987 with SEERExternal Web Site Policy cases serving as controls for a study that examined the provision of state-of-the-art therapy in Community Clinical Oncology Program hospitals. POC data have enabled investigators to examine disparities in receipt of cancer therapies, diagnostic tests, and biomarkers by age, race/ethnicity, and residential urbanicity/rurality. They also have been used to show trends in cancer therapy and survival over time for sites with multi-year data.

POC data are collected under a Congressional Mandate to NCI (Public Law 100-607, Sec. 413 (a)(2)(C) adopted November 4, 1988), and the project is coordinated jointly by the Division of Cancer Control and Population SciencesExternal Web Site Policy and the Division of Cancer Treatment and DiagnosisExternal Web Site Policy.

Cancers Covered by POC

POC studies have been conducted for a sample of patients with the following cancers:

View the accessible version of this table.

Cancer site * Year of Diagnosis
Breast Cancer
AYA breast cancer 2013
Early stage breast cancer 1987-1991, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015
In situ breast cancer 1991, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015
Late stage breast cancer 2012
Male Breast Cancer 2003-2004
Node negative, ER positive Breast Cancer 2004
Childhood cancers
Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) 1996
Acute myelocytic leukemia (AML) 1996
Brain stem cancer 1997
Ewing's sarcoma 1996, 2006, 2013
Hodgkin's Lymphoma 1996
Neuroblastoma 2010-2011
Osteosarcoma 1996, 2006, 2013
Colorectal cancer
Stage II and III 1987-1991, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015
Advanced stage 2014
Gastric cancer 2001
Gastrointestinal stromal cancer (GIST) 2008
Germ cell cancer - AYA 2006
Head and neck cancers 1997, 2004, 2009, 2016
Hepatocellular cancer 2007, 2012
Kidney cancer 2004, 2009, 2019
Leukemia
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) - AYA 2006
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) 2007
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) 1998, 2008, 2014
Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) 2003, 2012
Lung cancer
Mesothelioma 2011
Non-small cell lung cancer 1996, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2018
Small cell lung cancer 2007
Lymphoma
B-cell lymphoma 2003
Hodgkin's Lymphoma - AYA 2006, 2013
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma - all adults 1999, 2008
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma - AYA 2006, 2013
Melanoma of the skin 1995, 1996, 2001, 2011, 2018
Multiple myeloma 1999, 2003, 2007, 2014
Neurologic cancers
Astrocytoma 2011
Glioblastoma 2006
Oligodendroglioma 2011
Ovarian cancer 1991, 1996, 2002, 2011
Pancreas cancer 1998, 2009, 2016
Prostate cancer 1998, 2002, 2008
Sarcoma
All types - all adults 2013
All types - AYA 2006
Soft tissue 2002
Testicular cancer 1999
Thyroid cancer 2006
Urinary bladder cancer 1995, 2003, 2009, 2019
Uterine cancer
Uterine cervix cancer 1997, 2000, 2001
Uterine corpus cancer 1998, 2016
Vulvar cancer 1999

*Adults, age 20+, unless otherwise indicated
Childhood, ages 0-19
AYA (adolescents and young adults): age 15-39

Requesting Access to POC Data and Updating/Changing POC Data Requests

For information on requesting access to POC data and requesting updates or changes for currently-approved POC data requests, visit the POC Requesting Access page.

Guidance for Analysis of POC Data

Recommendations for appropriate statistical analyses of POC data sets involving small sample sizes and denominators are available in this report. (PDF, 216 KB)

Contacts

For more information on the Patterns of Care (POC) initiative, please contact:

Last Updated: 15 Feb, 2024