Devita, Hellman, and Rosenberg's Cancer

LWBK1006-05 LWW-Govindan-Review November 24, 2011 11:20

CHAPTER 5 EPIDEMIOLOGY OF

CANCER

THOMAS E. STINCHCOMBE

DIRECTIONS Each of the numbered items below is followed by lettered answers. Select

the ONE lettered answer that is BEST in each case unless instructed

otherwise.

QUESTIONS

Question 5.1. All of the following are true about prevalence and incidence, EXCEPT:

A. Prevalence is calculated by dividing the number of existing cases by

the total population.

B. Cumulative incidence is the proportion of people who develop the

disease during a specified period of time.

C. Prevalence is considered a more relevant measure of disease frequency

for etiologic evaluation, and incidence reflects the public health bur-

den of the disease.

D. The quality of incidence data varies substantially depending on the

accuracy of the population numbers, the completeness of report-

ing the diagnosis, and the degree with which the diagnosis is

pursued.

Question 5.2. Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program of the

National Cancer Institute provides data on new cancer cases and can-

cer survival within the United States. All of the following are true about

the SEER database, EXCEPT:

A. Geographic areas are selected for their ability to operate high-quality

data reporting systems and their epidemiologically significant popu-

lation subgroups.

B. The population covered by the SEER database is comparable to the

US population in regard to poverty and education.

C. SEER data provide information on the demographic characteristics

of cancer cases and cancer characteristics (site, morphology, and

stage).

D. The SEER database includes approximately 1% of the US popu-

lation.

Corresponding Chapters inCancer: Principles & Practice of Oncology,Ninth Edition: 22 (Epidemiologic Methods),

23 (Global Cancer Incidence and Mortality), and 24 (Trends in Cancer Mortality).

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