The Missouri Cancer Registry, in collaboration with the state's Center for Health Information Management and Evaluation, developed a unique cancer information resource for citizens, health professionals, researchers, and policy makers: Missouri Information for Community Assessment (MICA). MICA is an innovative Web-based system that allows users to access health information, including cancer statistics from the state cancer registry and health risk factor information from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. The cancer MICA system allows users to create tables showing cancer incidence by year, age, sex, race, cancer site, cancer stage, cancer grade, and the geographic location of cancer patients at the county level. This user-specific information can then be downloaded to other applications to produce maps, charts, or graphs so people can understand the overall effect that cancer has on the state.

The goal of this project is to educate citizens, health professionals, researchers, and policy makers about cancer in Missouri. Complete, timely, and high-quality data are essential for conducting research and responding to public concerns about cancer incidence in their communities.

Missouri's MICA is a new way of providing partners and the public with information about cancer and its associated risk factors. The MICA Web-based system can serve as a model for other states as an effective way to provide and encourage the use of data collected through the state's central cancer registry and to integrate cancer-related data into health planning activities.