Using SEER public-use datasets
Data Mining the differences in occurrences of neoplasms
in the U.S. African-American and White populations
SEER is the U.S. National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results program. It is an amazing resource for information about the cancers that occur in the U.S. One of the produces of SEER is the Public Use datasets, which contain de-identified records on over 3.5 million cancers that have occurred between 1973 and 2005.
When you have 3.5 million cancer cases to study, you can draw certain types of inferences that could not possibly be made with the data accumulated at any single medical institution.
Each SEER record is a cancer case, described by a series of 258 (mostly) numbers, in byte-assigned positions, described by a data dictionary document. When you have the byte locations for the data dictionary entries, you can easily write a short script (I like to use Perl, Ruby, or Python) that can extract and compile data any way you wish.
Here is a listing of the ratios of cancer cases, of different types, occurring in the white population and the African-American population in the U.S.
The first column is the case occurrence ratio (white/black). The second column is the number of cases, for each tumor type, in the SEER public use data sets. Tumors occurring with under 40 cases were excluded. The third column is the average age of patients with the neoplasm. The fourth column is the ICD-O(international classification of diseases - oncology) neoplasm term, truncated for space limitation.
White/black No. cases Avg age ICD-0 Diagnosis
00.113 0000040 040 pigmented dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans
00.190 0000126 060 adult t-cell leukemia/lymphoma (htlv-1 pos.)
00.225 0000056 068 granular cell tumor, malignant
00.227 0000057 061 collecting duct carcinoma
00.238 0000045 056 thymoma, type ab, malignant
00.263 0000089 050 ameloblastoma, malignant
00.271 0000053 053 hypereosinophilic syndrome
00.314 0000116 051 gastrinoma, malignant
00.314 0000042 053 odontogenic tumor, malignant
00.372 0000103 026 alveolar soft part sarcoma
00.394 0000120 055 atypical medullary carcinoma
00.405 0000335 051 medullary carcinoma with lymphoid stroma
00.415 0000053 038 craniopharyngioma
00.416 0000481 039 hodgkin lymph., nodular lymphocyte predom.
00.419 0000115 030 precursor t-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma
00.428 0000200 065 plasma cell leukemia
00.439 0000832 031 choriocarcinoma [j.b. presumably gestational type]
00.441 0000050 002 infantile fibrosarcoma
00.443 0001263 062 gastrointestinal stromal sarcoma
00.444 0003634 042 dermatofibrosarcoma nos
00.447 0000040 040 sertoli-leydig cell tumor, poorly differentiated
00.448 0000106 038 mesenchymal chondrosarcoma
00.461 0001225 050 pituitary adenoma, nos
00.461 0000042 066 prolymphocytic leukemia, t-cell type
00.464 0000959 055 thymoma, malignant
00.484 0000091 059 polymorphous low grade adenocarcinoma
00.485 0019957 064 hepatocellular carcinoma nos
00.494 0000780 053 granulosa cell tumor, malignant
00.496 0000227 028 chondroblastic osteosarcoma
00.501 0000779 067 mesodermal mixed tumor
00.501 0023109 063 squamous cell carcinoma, keratinizing type nos
00.502 0002766 072 adenocarcinoma, intestinal type
00.504 0036429 069 multiple myeloma
00.507 0000641 001 retinoblastoma nos
00.510 0000482 045 sq. cell carcinoma, keratinizing, nos, in situ
00.511 0001466 005 nephroblastoma nos
00.514 0000140 056 pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma
00.515 0000303 061 metaplastic carcinoma, nos
00.517 0000117 024 precursor t-cell lymphoblastic leukemia
00.520 0000337 018 alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma
00.531 0000105 065 adenocarcinoma with neuroendocrine differen.
00.533 0000117 051 paraganglioma, malignant
00.541 0003377 060 mycosis fungoides
00.544 0003088 068 mullerian mixed tumor
00.550 0000756 014 embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma
00.551 0007534 053 medullary carcinoma nos
00.553 0003575 070 tumor cells, malignant
00.553 0000617 060 renal cell carcinoma, chromophobe type
00.553 0000299 060 squamous cell carcinoma, small cell, nonkeratinizing type
00.554 0000514 067 intracystic carcinoma, nos
00.558 0000118 028 parosteal osteosarcoma
00.565 0000070 055 juvenile carcinoma of the breast
00.570 0057571 038 carcinoma in situ nos
00.571 0000196 049 pheochromocytoma, malignant
00.572 0000084 047 squamous cell carcinoma in situ with questionable stromal invasion
00.573 0000156 033 synovial sarcoma, biphasic type
00.577 0000054 058 malignant myoepithelioma
00.584 0000114 059 atypical meningioma
00.585 0000041 000 retinoblastoma, differentiated type
00.586 0000486 060 epithelioid leiomyosarcoma
00.596 0000183 065 superficial spreading adenocarcinoma
00.597 0001267 066 carcinoma, diffuse type
00.598 0000906 061 meningioma, malignant
00.602 0000191 058 stromal sarcoma, nos
00.613 0001094 065 intraductal papillary adenocarcinoma with invasion
00.617 0000135 063 composite carcinoid
00.626 0000043 002 retinoblastoma, undifferentiated type
00.627 0000118 037 giant cell tumor of bone, malignant
00.629 0001848 033 osteosarcoma nos
00.630 0016028 060 carcinoid tumor, malignant
00.631 0000090 024 malignant rhabdoid tumor
00.633 0000202 058 myeloid sarcoma
00.634 0000403 057 adenosarcoma
00.634 0000229 058 meningotheliomatous meningioma
00.637 0000757 064 papillary squamous cell carcinoma
00.637 0008089 058 squamous cell carcinoma, large cell, nonkeratinizing type
00.638 0003873 044 squamous cell carcinoma, microinvasive
00.639 0000069 021 ganglioglioma
00.639 0000118 062 epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma
00.641 0000586 069 chronic myeloproliferative disease, nos
00.643 0001258 052 fibrosarcoma nos
00.654 0000884 051 lymphoepithelial carcinoma
00.658 0014107 041 kaposi's sarcoma
00.661 0000690 047 neurofibrosarcoma
00.662 0000514 065 pleomorphic carcinoma
00.667 0247826 064 squamous cell carcinoma nos
00.673 0000082 059 thymic carcinoma, nos
00.673 0000047 047 leydig cell tumor, malignant
00.673 0000050 066 adenocarc. in situ in mult. adenomatous polyps
00.674 0000179 049 mesenchymoma, malignant
00.678 0014878 068 non-small cell carcinoma
00.681 0000890 054 anaplastic large cell lymphoma, t-cell and null cell type
00.682 0002723 065 meningioma nos
00.682 0000861 042 hodgkin's disease, lymphocytic predominance
00.683 0000114 033 fibroblastic osteosarcoma
00.685 0000282 042 epithelioid cell sarcoma
00.685 0000507 019 primitive neuroectodermal tumor
00.685 0000123 040 clear cell sarcoma of tendons and aponeuroses
00.686 0000087 037 small cell sarcoma
00.686 0000334 063 giant cell sarcoma (except of bone m9250/3)
00.687 0008070 059 leiomyosarcoma nos
00.688 0003285 057 inflammatory carcinoma
00.690 0000555 037 synovial sarcoma nos
00.692 0000058 052 hodgkin's disease, lymphocytic depletion, diffuse fibrosis
00.693 0001762 004 neuroblastoma nos
00.693 0000257 048 megakaryocytic leukemia
00.697 0000939 063 plasmacytoma, extramedullary
00.702 0003124 059 sarcoma nos
00.703 0004558 059 infiltr. duct mixed with other types of carcinoma, in situ
00.706 0002264 068 carcinosarcoma nos
00.707 0001065 064 giant cell carcinoma
00.707 0000053 026 telangiectatic osteosarcoma
00.707 0000084 014 langerhans cell histiocytosis, disseminated
00.712 0002593 062 infiltr. duct mixed with other types of carcinoma
00.727 0000049 022 precursor b-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma
00.728 0010967 065 signet ring cell carcinoma
00.735 0000723 064 apocrine adenocarcinoma
00.745 0000903 055 endometrial stromal sarcoma
00.750 0001267 060 mature t-cell lymphoma, nos
00.751 0000085 050 acute myeloid leukemia, t(8;21)(q22;q22)
00.755 0000869 063 plasma cell tumor, malignant
00.755 0000194 048 endometrial stromal sarcoma, low grade
00.761 0010254 064 carcinoma, undifferentiated type nos
00.762 0003162 062 noninfiltrating intraductal papillary adenocarcinoma
00.763 0000934 052 cystosarcoma phyllodes, malignant
00.768 0000295 068 pseudosarcomatous carcinoma
00.773 0011520 064 acinar cell carcinoma
00.774 0000584 067 squamous cell carcinoma, spindle cell type
00.782 0000493 062 basaloid squamous cell carcinoma
00.785 0029592 065 large cell carcinoma nos
00.786 0000787 066 spindle cell carcinoma
00.786 0000277 063 combined hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma
00.791 0025451 067 mucin-producing adenocarcinoma
00.794 0001025 060 spindle cell sarcoma
00.796 0006891 056 comedocarcinoma nos
00.796 0000258 062 renal cell carcinoma, sarcomatoid
00.800 0000123 065 brenner tumor, malignant
00.805 0016555 068 adenocarcinoma in tubulovillous adenoma
00.808 0000051 035 prolactinoma
00.809 0005831 067 adenocarcinoma in situ in tubulovillous adenoma
00.811 0024527 041 squamous intraepithelial neoplasia, grade iii
00.812 0000234 058 malignant tumor, small cell type
00.812 0000248 052 chronic myelogenous leukemia, bcr/abl positive
00.814 0004050 050 follicular adenocarcinoma nos
00.824 0000856 065 adenocarcinoma with mixed subtypes
00.824 0000060 016 choroid plexus papilloma, malignant
00.828 0000046 053 fascial fibrosarcoma
00.829 0000843 058 intraductal micropapillary carcinoma
00.831 0000947 064 granular cell carcinoma
00.833 0000079 044 papillary cystadenoma, borderline malignancy (c56.9)
00.839 0000324 061 acute myeloid leukemia, minimal differentiation
00.841 0000584 020 endodermal sinus tumor
00.845 0000722 050 neurilemmoma, malignant
00.845 0000557 067 combined small cell carcinoma
00.846 0002217 061 paget's disease and infiltrating duct carcinoma of breast
00.851 0000505 043 rhabdomyosarcoma nos
00.851 0011193 063 adenosquamous carcinoma
00.852 0000265 053 fibromyxosarcoma
00.854 0000139 022 ependymoma, anaplastic type
00.858 0000066 057 thymoma, type b1, malignant
00.858 0000045 037 mediastinal large b-cell lymphoma
00.858 0000388 037 sq. cell carcinoma, lg. cell, non-ker., in situ
00.859 0000416 038 hodgkin lymphoma, nod. scler., grade 1
00.861 0000517 047 follicular adenocarcinoma, well differentiated type
00.868 0000052 065 eccrine adenocarcinoma
00.868 0063370 038 squamous cell carcinoma in situ nos
00.870 0037543 064 renal cell carcinoma
00.871 0001654 066 linitis plastica
00.873 0001021 060 liposarcoma, well differentiated type
00.874 0000328 055 adenocarcinoid tumor
00.874 0000382 061 mixed tumor, malignant nos
00.877 0002754 056 intraductal and lobular in situ carcinoma
00.877 0000141 050 follicular adenocarcinoma, trabecular type
00.878 0000100 061 papillary squamous cell carcinoma, non-invasive
00.880 0001242 023 teratoma, malignant nos
00.880 0000080 071 refract. anemia with excess blasts in transformation
00.883 0005106 064 neuroendocrine carcinoma
00.884 0182616 072 carcinoma nos
00.884 0003757 054 mucoepidermoid carcinoma
00.885 0000179 051 adenocarcinoma in adenomatous polyposis coli
00.897 0000100 019 desmoplastic medulloblastoma
00.900 0000690 028 germinoma
00.904 1021940 068 adenocarcinoma nos
00.907 0056558 076 neoplasm, malignant
00.909 0000055 020 clear cell sarcoma of kidney
00.920 0003319 058 adenoid cystic carcinoma
00.921 0000082 032 neuroepithelioma nos
00.923 0010280 061 chronic myeloid leukemia
00.927 0003078 048 hodgkin's disease nos
00.927 0000963 035 precursor cell lymphoblastic lymphoma, nos
00.930 0000165 067 bronchiolo-alveolar carcinoma, non-mucinous
00.933 0000884 062 acral lentiginous melanoma, malig.
00.934 0000308 007 ganglioneuroblastoma
00.937 0000265 055 mucocarcinoid tumor, malignant
00.937 0000403 066 large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma
00.946 0000089 057 myxosarcoma
00.958 0000820 073 refractory anemia
00.959 0013199 064 malignant lymphoma nos
00.963 0000315 066 malignant tumor, fusiform cell type
00.966 0000086 045 hemangioblastoma
00.967 0000855 057 islet cell carcinoma
00.968 0001163 013 medulloblastoma nos
00.968 0000191 052 myxoid chondrosarcoma
00.970 0001140 047 acute promyelocytic leukemia
00.972 0000096 056 myxoid leiomyosarcoma
00.972 0000093 025 pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma
00.972 0000087 064 acute panmyelosis with myelofibrosis
00.974 0002700 050 bowen's disease
00.981 0000080 063 basal cell adenocarcinoma
00.982 0000125 065 nodular hidradenoma, malignant
00.989 0000114 067 sezary's disease
00.989 0000115 051 round cell liposarcoma
00.992 0035630 059 intraductal carcinoma, noninfiltrating nos
00.993 0000358 051 hemangiopericytoma, malignant
00.996 0003164 064 scirrhous adenocarcinoma
00.997 0003337 046 glioma, malignant
01.003 0001045 060 cutaneous t-cell lymphoma, nos
01.027 0001609 037 burkitt lymphoma, nos
01.028 0001015 067 lymphoid leukemia nos
01.032 0000104 048 epithelioid hemangioendothelioma, malignant
01.036 0000303 004 hepatoblastoma
01.036 0000998 065 essential thrombocythemia
01.040 0000390 066 alveolar adenocarcinoma
01.047 0000094 035 protoplasmic astrocytoma
01.050 0016754 069 adenocarcinoma in villous adenoma
01.050 0001041 049 serous cystadenoma, borderline malignancy (c56.9)
01.058 0000548 038 hodgkin lymphoma, nod. scler., cellular phase
01.059 0001545 017 pilocytic astrocytoma (c71._) 9421/1
01.061 0008163 067 adenocarcinoma in situ in adenomatous polyp
01.065 0000815 066 erythroleukemia
01.066 0001669 066 small cell carcinoma, intermediate cell
01.067 0000248 064 giant cell and spindle cell carcinoma
01.071 0001388 034 ependymoma nos
01.072 0000624 066 papillary carcinoma in situ
01.075 0004414 046 hodgkin's disease, mixed cellularity
01.089 0001323 062 liposarcoma nos
01.092 0000142 054 mesonephroma, malignant
01.092 0000212 067 bronchiolo-alveolar carcinoma, mucinous
01.093 0001167 053 myxoid liposarcoma
01.100 0050173 066 small cell carcinoma nos
01.103 0004446 065 carcinoma, anaplastic type nos
01.111 0000159 052 hemangioendothelioma, malignant
01.116 0002422 074 myelodysplastic syndrome, nos
01.117 0333623 061 infiltrating duct carcinoma
01.120 0000405 064 pleomorphic liposarcoma
01.132 0005812 062 fibrous histiocytoma, malignant
01.132 0003638 065 marginal zone b-cell lymphoma, nos
01.134 0004672 069 adenocarcinoma in situ in villous adenoma
01.138 0000145 057 mixed type liposarcoma
01.144 0000084 063 psammomatous meningioma
01.149 0000166 060 carcinoid tumor, argentaffin, malignant
01.154 0000096 039 hepatocellular carcinoma, fibrolamellar
01.162 0000655 074 refractory anemia with sideroblasts
01.166 0000151 064 adenocarcinoma in mult. adenomatous polyps
01.166 0001603 048 serous papillary cystic tumor of borderline malignancy (c56.9)
01.169 0011933 033 hodgkin lymphoma, nodular sclerosis, nos
01.171 0018131 061 acute myeloid leukemia
01.173 0000287 063 dedifferentiated liposarcoma
01.173 0009679 058 comedocarcinoma, noninfiltrating
01.175 0027965 059 papillary adenocarcinoma nos
01.178 0000091 045 papillary carcinoma, encapsulated
01.184 0001275 064 polycythemia vera
01.189 0020880 068 adenocarcinoma in adenomatous polyp
01.189 0000827 021 precursor b-cell lymphoblastic leukemia
01.190 0000215 046 follicular carcinoma, minimally invasive
01.191 0000461 066 basaloid carcinoma
01.196 0000178 037 synovial sarcoma, spindle cell type
01.196 0000362 069 myelosclerosis with myeloid metaplasia
01.197 0001872 069 myeloid leukemia nos
01.198 0045778 068 mucinous adenocarcinoma
01.200 0002839 059 cribriform carcinoma in situ
01.206 0000516 050 papillary microcarcinoma
01.208 0000435 036 hodgkin lymphoma, nod. scler., grade 2
01.220 0000165 061 carcinoma in pleomorphic adenoma
01.223 0000614 060 acute myeloid leukemia with maturation
01.234 0001092 062 mixed cell adenocarcinoma
01.243 0009222 023 precursor cell lymphoblastic leukemia, nos
01.249 0020557 061 clear cell adenocarcinoma nos
01.254 0011881 066 bronchiolo-alveolar adenocarcinoma
01.255 0000115 044 adenocarcinoma, endocervical type
01.257 0001270 066 ml, lymphoplasmacytic
01.262 0000144 056 transitional meningioma
01.263 0004480 058 ml, large b-cell, diffuse, immunoblastic, nos
01.265 0010260 046 papillary and follicular adenocarcinoma
01.279 0000172 050 giant cell glioblastoma
01.287 0000057 055 chromophobe carcinoma
01.287 0000127 066 neoplasm, uncertain whether benign or malignant
01.288 0001435 058 oxyphilic adenocarcinoma
01.295 0000880 065 cribriform carcinoma
01.300 0000485 056 papillary mucinous cystadenocarcinoma
01.302 0000149 034 peripheral neuroectodermal tumor
01.312 0004610 069 cholangiocarcinoma
01.312 0002006 061 acute myelomonocytic leukemia
01.313 0000626 056 hodgkin's disease, lymphocytic depletion nos
01.320 0015063 062 papillary serous cystadenocarcinoma
01.326 0000241 066 angioimmunoblastic t-cell lymphoma
01.329 0000117 054 nk/t-cell lymphoma, nasal and nasal-type
01.336 0000758 068 villous adenocarcinoma
01.341 0000761 051 adrenal cortical carcinoma
01.348 0001142 063 cystadenocarcinoma nos
01.356 0000618 066 paget's disease, mammary
01.362 0009635 067 ml, small b lymphocytic, nos
01.363 0003731 065 acute leukemia nos
01.364 0001353 063 hemangiosarcoma
01.371 0008335 047 astrocytoma nos
01.372 0001358 064 cloacogenic carcinoma
01.376 0010414 054 lobular carcinoma in situ
01.391 0021695 061 infiltrating duct and lobular carcinoma
01.397 0017866 064 oat cell carcinoma
01.407 0002708 063 serous surface papillary carcinoma
01.414 0000054 065 hepatocellular carcinoma, clear cell type
01.425 0000285 046 burkitt's tumor
01.425 0003428 056 mucinous cystadenocarcinoma nos
01.437 0004682 062 serous cystadenocarcinoma nos
01.445 0000301 070 prolymphocytic leukemia, nos
01.451 0000327 067 acute myeloid leuk. with multilineage dysplasia
01.454 0000156 069 basosquamous carcinoma
01.455 0037088 063 ml, large b-cell, diffuse
01.481 0000050 059 solitary fibrous tumor, malignant
01.487 0001358 063 paget disease and intraductal ca.
01.487 0001004 050 medullary carcinoma with amyloid stroma
01.488 0012432 062 malignant lymphoma, non hodgkin's type
01.491 0004319 065 ml, mixed sm. and lg. cell, diffuse
01.497 0001673 068 verrucous carcinoma nos
01.512 0002581 072 leukemia nos
01.522 0001770 058 acute monocytic leukemia
01.530 0001669 060 duct carcinoma in situ, solid type
01.535 0000086 065 adenoid squamous cell carcinoma
01.535 0000086 062 therapy-related myelodysplastic syndrome, nos
01.540 0000079 058 thymoma, type b3, malignant
01.559 0030328 070 chronic lymphoid leukemia
01.599 0000111 047 papillary mucinous cystadenoma, borderline malignancy (c56.9)
01.605 0000179 067 splenic marginal zone b-cell lymphoma
01.617 0001798 074 chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, nos
01.627 0006684 058 adenocarcinoma in situ
01.632 0000111 055 fibrous meningioma
01.641 0000074 061 hodgkin's disease, lymphocytic depletion, reticular type
01.650 0000763 072 refractory anemia with excess blasts
01.651 0022382 050 papillary carcinoma nos
01.658 0000885 061 infiltrating ductular carcinoma
01.666 0000118 042 burkitt cell leukemia
01.692 0001301 059 papillary cystadenocarcinoma nos
01.721 0050243 070 transitional cell carcinoma nos
01.733 0002320 048 astrocytoma, anaplastic type
01.738 0000363 064 sweat gland adenocarcinoma
01.742 0026705 061 endometrioid carcinoma
01.777 0000500 048 oligodendroglioma, anaplastic type
01.796 0034336 064 lobular carcinoma nos
01.818 0000295 061 glioblastoma with sarcomatous component
01.829 0004897 068 mesothelioma, malignant
01.846 0000302 052 esthesioneuroblastoma
01.863 0001932 051 chondrosarcoma nos
01.868 0000042 061 adenocarcinoma with apocrine metaplasia
01.905 0000472 063 infiltrating lobular mixed with other types of carc.
01.924 0000448 059 acute myeloid leukemia without maturation
01.931 0001012 040 mixed glioma
01.935 0000159 049 nonencapsulated sclerosing carcinoma
01.986 0000128 053 spermatocytic seminoma
01.987 0001486 049 mucinous cystic tumor of borderline malignancy (c56.9)
01.994 0002890 066 mantle cell lymphoma
02.002 0000764 042 fibrillary astrocytoma
02.020 0000184 067 trabecular adenocarcinoma
02.020 0000046 069 eccrine poroma, malignant
02.034 0003345 063 malignant lymphoma, nodular nos
02.046 0000966 031 dysgerminoma
02.053 0000070 040 myxopapillary ependymoma
02.057 0006337 062 tubular adenocarcinoma
02.088 0000978 052 neurilemmoma nos
02.090 0000219 038 astroblastoma
02.119 0003414 062 malignant lymphoma, follicular center cell, noncleaved, follicular
02.171 0019907 061 glioblastoma nos
02.222 0000239 063 solid carcinoma nos
02.229 0001585 071 waldenstrom macroglobulinemia
02.235 0000940 069 transitional cell carcinoma in situ
02.242 0000122 071 transitional cell carcinoma, spindle cell type
02.289 0000077 062 atypical carcinoid tumor
02.333 0002297 041 oligodendroglioma nos
02.363 0000263 071 refractory cytopenia with multilineage dysplasia
02.491 0000089 074 myelodysplastic syndr. with 5q deletion syndrome
02.525 0000054 068 carcinoma simplex
02.554 0000461 049 gemistocytic astrocytoma
02.558 0000083 064 small cell carcinoma, fusiform cell type
02.592 0000086 056 papillary carcinoma, columnar cell
02.657 0000408 072 klatskin tumor
02.666 0000147 056 primary cutan. cd30+ t-cell lymphoprolif. disorder
02.726 0096537 068 papillary transitional cell carcinoma
02.790 0005812 062 malignant lymphoma, mixed lymphocytic-histiocytic, nodular
02.891 0000614 055 chordoma
02.932 0008938 060 malignant lymphoma, follicular center cell, cleaved, follicular
02.962 0000476 069 fibrous mesothelioma, malignant
03.094 0002388 030 mixed germ cell tumor
03.131 0000786 072 basal cell carcinoma nos
03.245 0002438 069 papillary trans. cell carcinoma, non-invasive
03.257 0000135 054 malignant mastocytosis
03.282 0000494 062 skin appendage carcinoma
03.491 0000261 072 mesothelioma, biphasic type, malignant
03.570 0000796 072 sebaceous adenocarcinoma
03.587 0001263 067 epithelioid mesothelioma, malignant
03.602 0000113 060 queyrat's erythroplasia
03.602 0000116 065 sclerosing sweat duct carcinoma
03.694 0002147 058 hairy cell leukemia
03.695 0004086 059 adenocarcinoma with squamous metaplasia
03.737 0000042 056 gliomatosis cerebri
04.040 0000041 064 lymphangiosarcoma
04.040 0000095 028 germ cell tumor, nonseminomatous
04.337 0009849 037 seminoma nos
04.747 0000049 070 osteosarcoma in paget's disease of bone
04.955 0001717 028 teratocarcinoma
05.050 0000057 048 ac. myelomonocytic leuk. w abn. mar. eosinophils
05.529 0003184 030 embryonal carcinoma nos
05.611 0001088 019 ewing's sarcoma
05.824 0000556 028 choriocarcinoma combined with teratoma
06.019 0000627 038 seminoma, anaplastic type
06.565 0000401 060 epithelioid cell melanoma
08.055 0000811 071 paget's disease, extramammary (except paget's disease of bone)
08.206 0001716 074 merkel cell carcinoma
10.024 0000412 056 malignant melanoma, regressing
10.706 0000110 052 precancerous melanosis nos
10.891 0000661 061 mixed epithel. & spindle cell melanoma
12.623 0048315 056 malignant melanoma nos
18.888 0000764 060 amelanotic melanoma
19.367 0000783 066 desmoplastic melanoma, malignant
21.009 0001281 062 spindle cell melanoma nos
24.492 0008688 060 nodular melanoma
29.788 0007272 069 malignant melanoma in hutchinson's melanotic freckle
31.608 0021999 057 melanoma in situ
38.463 0040929 052 superficial spreading melanoma
38.730 0018652 068 hutchinson's melanotic freckle
47.472 0000477 058 spindle cell melanoma, type b
62.046 0004547 051 superficial spreading melanoma, in situ
As a rough guide to interpreting the data, neoplasms found in the top third of the list occur disproportionately often in the African-American population. Neoplasms found in the bottom third of the list occur disproportionately often in the white population. Neoplasms in the middle third occur in similar proportions in both sets.
The left hand column is the ratio of occurrence of the tumors in the two populations. Each ratio was calculated as the fraction of cases of the tumor in the white population divided by the fraction of the cases of the tumor in the black population. If the tumor accounted for the same fraction of total cancer cases in the white and black populations, it would have a ratio of 1. It is important to note that we cannot simply find the ratio of the the tumor's occurrence in the white and black populations (because there are many more whites than blacks).
You might be wondering why this question (i.e., tumors in blacks vs tumors in whites) has any clinical importance or biological relevance. It's a good question, and it doesn't have an answer that will satisfy everyone. First, the information helps us avoid diagnostic errors. For example, a pathologist should be wary about making a diagnosis of Ewing's tumor or of superficial spreading melanoma in an African American (in whom these tumors seldom occur). Second, the list generates new hypotheses. We notice that germ cell tumors (including seminomas, teratomas and embryonal carcinomas) occur much for frequently in whites than in the black population. Why is this? Is there some gene that contributes to these tumors, that occurs more frequenly in the white population? We cannot ask such questions if we do not have the kinds of observations included in this list. Third, the list can be generated with the Public Use data sets, which contain race/ethnicity data in case records. We do what we can.
Let's take a look at the first 29 entries from the list. These are the
neoplasms that occur more frequently in the U.S. African-American population
than the U.S. white population, by a ration of at least 2:1
00.113 pigmented dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans
00.190 adult t-cell leukemia/lymphoma (htlv-1 pos.)
00.225 granular cell tumor, malignant
00.227 collecting duct carcinoma
00.238 thymoma, type ab, malignant
00.263 ameloblastoma, malignant
00.271 hypereosinophilic syndrome
00.314 gastrinoma, malignant
00.314 odontogenic tumor, malignant
00.372 alveolar soft part sarcoma
00.394 atypical medullary carcinoma
00.405 medullary carcinoma with lymphoid stroma
00.415 craniopharyngioma
00.416 hodgkin lymph., nodular lymphocyte predom.
00.419 precursor t-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma
00.428 plasma cell leukemia
00.439 choriocarcinoma
00.441 infantile fibrosarcoma
00.443 gastrointestinal stromal sarcoma
00.444 dermatofibrosarcoma nos
00.447 sertoli-leydig cell tumor, poorly differentiated
00.448 mesenchymal chondrosarcoma
00.461 pituitary adenoma, nos
00.461 prolymphocytic leukemia, t-cell type
00.464 thymoma, malignant
00.484 polymorphous low grade adenocarcinoma
00.485 hepatocellular carcinoma nos
00.494 granulosa cell tumor, malignant
00.496 chondroblastic osteosarcoma
With the exception of pigmented dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans
(also known as Bednar tumor),
there is nothing about these lesions that would lead one
to expect them to occur disproportionately in the black population.
Most of these tumors
have obscure etiologies (hepatocellular carcinoma and
adult t-cell leukemia/lymphoma are exceptions). But there you have it.
When we look at the other extreme of the list (tumors that occur more
frequently in the white population) we see some surprises and some
expected results.
04.040 germ cell tumor, nonseminomatous
04.337 seminoma nos
04.747 osteosarcoma in paget's disease of bone
04.955 teratocarcinoma
05.050 ac. myelomonocytic leuk. w abn. mar. eosinophils
05.529 embryonal carcinoma nos
05.611 ewing's sarcoma
05.824 choriocarcinoma combined with teratoma
06.019 seminoma, anaplastic type
06.565 epithelioid cell melanoma
08.055 paget's disease, extramammary (except paget's disease of bone)
08.206 merkel cell carcinoma
10.024 malignant melanoma, regressing
10.706 precancerous melanosis nos
10.891 mixed epithel. & spindle cell melanoma
12.623 malignant melanoma nos
18.888 amelanotic melanoma
19.367 desmoplastic melanoma, malignant
21.009 spindle cell melanoma nos
24.492 nodular melanoma
29.788 malignant melanoma in hutchinson's melanotic freckle
31.608 melanoma in situ
38.463 superficial spreading melanoma
38.730 hutchinson's melanotic freckle
47.472 spindle cell melanoma, type b
62.046 superficial spreading melanoma, in situ
The melanomas fall in the end of the list (i.e., have the
greatest frequency in the white population). There is one important
exception:
00.933 acral lentiginous melanoma, malig.
Acral lentiginous melanoma occurs under fingernails, on fingers and toes,
and these are unpigmented (or hypopigmented) locations. These tumors
occur just about equally in the black and white populations (ratio of 0.933),
just as we would expect
There is some internal consistency in the list.
Where a tumor appears, it is often closely followed by a variant of the
same tumor. This indicates that regardless of any selection biases
that might have crept into the population data, closely related tumors
seem to aggregate on the list. Here are some examples.
Multiple myeloma and its coding variant both occur disproportionately
in the black population and fall in at about the same
place on the list:
00.428 plasma cell leukemia
00.504 multiple myeloma
The germ cell carcinomas are all much more commonly found in the
white population and are all near-neighbors on the list:
01.986 spermatocytic seminoma
02.046 dysgerminoma
03.094 mixed germ cell tumor
04.955 teratocarcinoma
05.529 embryonal carcinoma nos
05.824 choriocarcinoma combined with teratoma
06.019 seminoma, anaplastic type
Transitional cell tumors are more likely to occur in the white
population and are near-neighbors on the list:
01.721 transitional cell carcinoma nos
02.235 transitional cell carcinoma in situ
02.242 transitional cell carcinoma, spindle cell type
The SEER site allows users to make data queries directly.
If you would like to search the SEER data with the SEER search engine,
the web address is:
http://seer.cancer.gov/canques/index.html
At the SEER site, users cannot make global queries (queries that compare
every tumor in the database against every other tumor in the database,
by every tumor type, and all at once). Global queries are what data
mining is all about, and my web sites are focused on empowering
people with the tools to do their own data mining.
For this, you need the actual
data sets used by the SEER programmers, and you need to be able
to do a little bit of your own programming.
For Perl and Ruby programmers, methods and scripts for using SEER and other publicly available biomedical databases, are described in detail in my prior books:
Perl Programming for Medicine and Biology
Ruby Programming for Medicine and Biology
More information on cancer is available in my recently published book, Neoplasms.
I also maintain a blog where I regularly write about data organization,
data annotation, data retrieval, and data mining.
http://julesberman.blogspot.com
© 2008 Jules Berman
key words: neoplasms, cancer, neoplasia, precancer, tumor, tumour, tumors, tumours, neoplasm, carcinogenesis, carcinogens, tumor genetics
As specified in the Limited-Use Data Agreement, the citation for the SEER data
is as follows:
Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program
(www.seer.cancer.gov) Limited-Use Data (1973-2005), National Cancer
Institute, DCCPS, Surveillance Research Program, Cancer Statistics
Branch, released April 2008, based on the November 2007 submission.
As with all of my scripts, lists, web sites, and blog entries,
the following disclaimer applies.
This material is provided by its creator, Jules J. Berman, "as is",
without warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, including but
not limited to the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a
particular purpose and noninfringement. in no event shall the
author or copyright holder be liable for any claim, damages or
other liability, whether in an action of contract, tort or otherwise,
arising from, out of or in connection with the material or the use or
other dealings in the material.
Last modified: November 27, 2008