The NCDB data dictionary can be found here.
Type of Data
Speciality/Cancer database
Years Available
2008-2017**
Note: Most variables have been not been collected from the beginning so likely, the date range would be narrower depending on the study question
Short Description
The National Cancer Database is an excellent resource for researchers looking to study a particular cancer population. It is well put together and one of the most straight forward options for secondary data sources given the breadth and depth of the data. The only real issue that may arise when analyzing NCDB is occasional pronounced missing ness for some variables.
Strengths
- Straight forward and standardized data coding with a lot of depth
- Many cancer sites are available
- Socioeconomic demographic variables are available
- A large degree of clinical detail is available
Limitations
- Missingness can present issues