| A |
| Age distribution of a population: |
Number of people in particular age categories. Example: The 2000 U.S. standard population is based on the proportion of the 2000 population in specific age groups (< 1 year, 1–4 years, 5–9 years, 10–14 years, 15–19 years,…, ≥85 years). |
| Age-adjusted rate: |
Incidence or mortality rate adjusted to the age distribution of a standard population to allow for comparison among populations with different age distributions. Example: Rates are age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population |
| B |
| Basal cell skin cancer: |
A malignant skin tumor composed of cells similar to those from the basal cell layer of the epidermis. Because of the estimated large volume, many cancer registries do not register basal cell skin cancer except for selected sites, such as skin of external genital organs (vulva, penis, and scrotum). |
| C |
| Case count: |
Number of people diagnosed with cancer in a given time period. |
| CDC: |
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. |
| Census division: |
See U.S. Census division. |
| Census region: |
See U.S. Census region. |
| D |
| Death rate: |
Number of deaths in a given population during a given time frame in a given geographic area per 100,000 people. |
| Deaths: |
Number of people who died of cancer in a given time period. |
| E |
| Ethnicity: |
Social grouping based on common national origin or common language. The Office of Management and Budget defines Hispanics (or Latinos) as people of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race. The Office of Management and Budget’s Directive 15 states that the ethnicity category represents a social-political construct designed for collecting data on the race and ethnicity of broad population groups in this country, and is not anthropologically or scientifically based. |
| I |
| IBD: |
Intrahepatic bile duct. |
| In situ cancer: |
An early cancer that is present only in the layer of cells in which it began. |
| Incidence rate: |
Number of new events in a given population during a given time frame in a given geographic area per 100,000 people. |
| International Classification of Disease for Oncology (ICD-O): |
Classification system used by tumor or cancer registries to code the site and the histology of the cancer, usually from a pathology report. |
| Invasive cancer: |
Cancer that has spread beyond the layer of tissue in which it developed and is growing into surrounding, healthy tissues. |
| M |
| Mortality: |
The condition of being subject to death. When rates are discussed, "death rate" is used to coincide with the National Vital Statistics System data presentations. |
| N |
| New cases: |
See Case count. |
| NOS: |
Not otherwise specified. |
| NPCR: |
National Program of Cancer Registries, CDC. |
| NVSS: |
National Vital Statistics System. |
| O |
| ONS: |
Other nervous system. |
| P |
| Population: |
The number of inhabitants of a given geographic area. |
| Primary site: |
The location or organ (site) in the body where the cancer first occurred. |
| R |
| Race: |
Group of people who are relatively homogenous with respect to biological inheritance. The Office of Management and Budget's Directive 15 states that the race categories represent a social-political construct designed for collecting data on the race and ethnicity of broad population groups in this country, and are not anthropologically or scientifically based. |
| Rate: |
A basic measure of disease frequency, which takes into account the number of cases or deaths and the size of a population. See age-adjusted rate, crude rate, death rate, or incidence rate. |
| S |
| Site: |
See primary site. |
| Squamous cell skin cancer: |
A malignant tumor having characteristics of squamous cells. Because of the estimated large volume, many cancer registries do not register squamous cell skin cancer except for selected sites, such as skin of external genital organs (vulva, penis, and scrotum). |
| U |
| U.S. Census division: |
Geographic groups of states. Example: The New England division includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. |
| U.S. Census region: |
Geographic groups of states comprising of several U.S. Census divisions. Example: Northeast. The New England and Middle Atlantic divisions are in the Northeast region. |
