The SEER Program strives to make all L/R/D stage variables consistent for all cancer sites for the appropriate years. However, there are certain site/year combinations where this is not possible. The following table details changes imposed on the stage variables by the SEER Program.

Any cases diagnosed in years not covered by the year range indicated in parentheses within the stage variable name are coded as Blank. Cancer sites without notations for a stage variable are fully staged within the year ranges covered by the variable.

Site Recode with Kaposi Sarcoma and Mesothelioma Combined Summary Stage (2004+)a SEER Summary
Stage 2000 (1998-2017)
SEER Historic
Stage A (1973-2015)b, c
Gum and Other Mouth   All cases are blank  
Nasopharynx   All cases are blank 2004+ all cases are blank
Tonsil   All cases are blank  
Oropharynx   All cases are blank  
Hypopharynx   All cases are blank  
Other Oral Cavity and Pharynx   All cases are blank  
Gallbladder   All cases are blank  
Other Biliary   All cases are blank  
Retroperitoneum   All cases are blank  
Peritoneum, Omentum and Mesentery   All cases are blank 1973-1987 all cases are blank
Other Digestive Organs   All cases are blank  
Nose, Nasal Cavity and Middle Ear   All cases are blank 1973-1982 all cases are blank
Larynx     2004+ all cases are blank 
Lung and Bronchus     1973-1987 all cases are blank
Pleura   All cases are blank 1973+ all cases are unstaged
Trachea   All cases are blank 2004+ all cases are blank
Bones and Joints   All cases are blank  
Other Non-Epithelial Skin   All cases are blank  
Ovary    Non-malignant cases are blank  
Vagina   All cases are blank 2004+ all cases are blank
Other Female Genital Organs   All cases are blank  
Prostate     1973-1994 all cases are blank
1995+ all localized and regional cases coded as “Localized/regional (Prostate cases)”
Testis      
Penis   All cases are blank  
Other Male Genital Organs   All cases are blank  
Bladder     1973+ all cases originally staged as in situ are converted to localized
Ureter   All cases are blank  
Other Urinary Organs   All cases are blank  
Eye and Orbit   All cases are blank  
Brain and Other Nervous System   Non-malignant cases are blank 1973+ all cases are unstaged
Other Endocrine including Thymus   All cases are blank 2004+ all cases are blank
Hodgkin Lymphoma     1973+ all cases are unstaged
NHL     1973+ all cases are unstaged
Myeloma     1973+ all cases are distant
Leukemia   All cases are blank  
Mesothelioma   All cases are blank 2004+ all cases are blank
Kaposi Sarcoma   All cases are blank Not staged
Miscellaneous   All cases are blank 1973+ all cases are unstaged

a Created from SEER Combined Summary Stage 2000 (2004-2017) and Derived Summary Stage 2018 (2018+). Not available for Massachusetts.
b In databases prior to the November 2018 submission, this field did not have a year range in the name.
c Historic Stage Coding for 2004-2015 (XLS, 355 KB)

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