Rationale and design of the National Program of Cancer Registries' breast, colon, and prostate cancer patterns of care study.

Background: Investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR), are collaborating with public health professionals from seven states and the District of Columbia to conduct the Patterns of Care study to assess the quality of cancer data and to determine whether stage-specific treatments are being carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]