Research Projects
SEER Special Studies
The Health, Eating, Activity and Lifestyle (HEAL) Study, also known to New Mexico
participants as the “New Mexico Women’s Health Study,” (NMWHS) is a multi-centered investigation of the influence
of body weight, composition, diet, physical activity, and hormones on prognosis of breast cancer ascertained by
SEER registries in New Mexico; Seattle, WA; and Los Angeles, CA. The multi-centered HEAL study includes
co-investigators at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC), Seattle, WA and the University of
Southern California (USC), Los Angeles. (Project Period: 1996-2006; New Mexico PI: Charles Wiggins, PhD)
Patterns of Care Studies have been conducted since 1987 to evaluate the provision of optimal therapy to all cancer
patients. Under Congressional Mandate, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) is required to report on the dissemination
of state-of-the-art therapy for all cancer patients. POC studies verify radiation, chemotherapy, and hormonal
therapy and other therapies used in the treatment of selected cancers with the treating physician. Additional
information is also collected on surgery, pathologic margins, tumor characteristics, enrollment in clinical trails,
and hospital characteristics. The present patterns of care study will evaluate treatment of men with invasive breast
cancer, both men and women with invasive kidney cancer or head and neck cancer, and female breast cancer cases with
negative nodes and estrogen receptor positive tumors. (Project Period: 2005-2006; PI: Charles Wiggins, PhD)
Replication of Results Regarding Completeness of Melanoma Surveillance is a multi-phase project designed to
characterize current patterns of melanoma diagnosis and treatment in New Mexico and, thereby, identify novel sources
for identifying newly diagnosed cases of the disease. Results from this project will be used to modify existing
practices of the New Mexico Tumor Registry to improve the completeness, timeliness, and quality of surveillance for
malignant melanoma in New Mexico. (Project Period: 2005-2006; PI: Charles Wiggins, PhD)
