Illinois has long lead the way in research aimed at improving the quality of life for state residents, as the selection of the Illinois State Cancer Registry to participate in a prestigious national program demonstrates.

The ISCR is a program of the Illinois Department of Public Health that collects and provides data relating to the occurrence of cancer in Illinois. This data allows medical professionals and communities to learn how to better treat cancer in patients and to identify potential causes of cancer cases by mapping where they occur.

The National Cancer Institute recognized the ISCR with a contract to participate in a multi-state cancer surveillance program called the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program.

As part of the SEER program, Illinois researchers will assist in providing national leadership on the science of cancer surveillance and gain more expertise in collecting and analyzing population-level cancer statistics. This will allow the expertise of Illinois’ researchers to help make progress in national cancer research, while also providing ISCR with more resources to conduct their work in Illinois.

This latest award builds on the reputation of the Illinois State Cancer Registry, which was awarded and has maintained a gold certification for their level of data completeness, quality and timeliness. These recognitions show that Illinois’ scientists continue to lead the way in helping to confront public health crises and improve people’s health.

More information about ISCR can be found on the IDPH website.