Cherokee Nation Cancer Registry
The Oklahoma population includes a higher percentage of American Indians than any other state. The problem of scarcity of quality data on cancer incidence, treatment, and survival trends for American Indians is prevalent in Oklahoma, where it is estimated that there is significant underreporting of cancer mortality among Native Americans. In partnership with the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, NCI is funding a pilot cancer registry with the goal of building an infrastructure that is able to meet the SEER standards in case finding, patient follow-up, data processing, data reporting, and quality assurance. The target population includes all Native Americans residing in the Cherokee Nation's 14-county tribal jurisdictional service area who are eligible for health care through tribal or Indian Health Service facilities. A Memorandum of Agreement with the Oklahoma Central Cancer Registry (OCRA) has enabled both registries to collaborate and share needed data. Data from the Cherokee Nation Cancer Registry were used to obtain funding from CDC to establish the Cherokee Nation Comprehensive Cancer Control Program.
