Cancer

About cancer and cancer screening

The Cancer and Screening Unit monitors, investigates and reports on cancer incidence, mortality, survival and prevalence as well as population‑based cancer screening indicators. This includes maintaining the Australian Cancer Database as part of the National Cancer Statistics Clearing House in collaboration with the Australasian Association of Cancer Registries. In addition, the Unit is responsible for developing a new National Centre for Monitoring Cancer.

Cancer control is a National Health Priority Area (NHPA)

Cancer control was made a National Health Priority Area in 1996 because of its major impact on the Australian community.

Key facts and figures

The key data source for this section is the Australian Cancer Database 2007.  

Incidence

How many people were diagnosed with cancer in 2007?

• 108,368 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in Australia in 2007 (excluding basal and squamous cell carcinomas of the skin).
• 57% of the newly diagnosed cancer cases in 2007 were in males.

What is the risk of being diagnosed with cancer?

• The risk of being diagnosed with cancer before the age of 75 years is 1 in 3 for males and 1 in 4 for females.
• The risk before age 85 years is higher, at 1 in 2 for males and 1 in 3 for females.

Which cancers were the most common in 2007?

In 2007, the most commonly reported cancers were:

• Prostate cancer (19,403 cases)
• Bowel cancer (14,234 cases)
• Breast cancer (12,670 cases)
• Melanoma of the skin (10,342 cases)
• Lung cancer (9,703 cases).

The 10 most commonly diagnosed cancers, Australia, 2007

 

Do cancer rates differ with age?

• In 2007, the likelihood of being diagnosed with cancer increased with age in both males and females.

Age-specific incidence rates for all cancers combined, Australia, 2007

Notes:
1.The rates shown are age-specific rates.
2.The data pertain to cancers coded in ICD-10 as C00-C97, D45, D46, D47.1 and D47.3 with the exception of those C44 codes which indicate a basal or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin.

Source: AIHW Australian Cancer Database.

How has the occurrence of cancer changed over time?

The number of new cancer cases more than doubled between 1982 and 2007. In 1982, 47,350 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in Australia compared with 108,368 cases in 2007.

• The incidence rate for all cancers combined increased by 27% from 383 cases per 100,000 people in 1982 to 485 cases per 100,000 people in 2007.

Incidence of all cancers combined, Australia, 1982 to 2007

Notes 
1.The rates were age-standardised to the Australian population as at 30 June 2001.
2.The data pertain to cancers coded in ICD-10 as C00–C97, D45, D46, D47.1 and D47.3 with the exception of those C44 codes which indicate a basal or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin.

Source: AIHW Australian Cancer Database.

Mortality

How many people died from cancer in 2007?

• A total of 39,884 people died from cancer in 2007 (22,562 males and 17,322 females), this equates to an average of 109 people dying from cancer every day.
• Cancer was the second most common cause of death in 2007, accounting for approximately three of every ten deaths (29%).

What is the risk of dying from cancer?

• The risk of dying from cancer before the age of 75 years is 1 in 8 for males and 1 in 12 for females.
• The risk of dying before the age of 85 years is higher, at 1 in 4 for males and 1 in 6 for females.

Which cancers led to most deaths in 2007?

In 2007, the most common causes of cancer death were:

• Lung cancer (7,626 deaths)
• Bowel cancer (4,047 deaths)
• Prostate cancer (2,938 deaths)
• Breast cancer (2,706 deaths)
• Lymphoid cancers (2,552 deaths).

The 10 most common causes of death from cancer, Australia, 2007

Source: AIHW National Mortality Database.

How has mortality changed over time?

• The number of deaths from cancer has increased by 60% from 1982 (24,922 deaths) to 2007 (39,884 deaths).
• The age-standardised mortality rate for all cancers combined fell by 16% from 209 deaths per 100,000 people in 1982 to 176 deaths per 100,000 people in 2007.

The 10 most common causes of death from cancer, Australia, 2007

Source: AIHW National Mortality Database.

Survival

What is the prospect of survival?

• For those diagnosed with cancer between 1998 and 2004, the 5-year relative survival for all cancers combined, was 61%.
• Females had a better chance of survival than males, with the 5-year relative survival estimate equalling 64% for females and 58% for males.

Five-year relative survival, all cancers combined, Australia, 1998–2004

Notes
1. The highlighted male/female symbols represent the % of males/females that will be alive 5-years after a diagnosis of cancer.
2. The data pertain to cancers coded in ICD-10 as C00-C97 (except for C44), D45, D46, D47.1 and D47.3.

Source: AIHW, CA & AACR 2008.

How has survival changed over time?

• The 5-year relative survival for males increased from 41% in 1982–1986 to 58% in 1998–2004. There was a similar improvement for females over these periods–from 53% to 64%.

Five-year relative survival, all cancers combined, Australia, 1982–1986 to 1998–2004

Note: The data pertain to cancers coded in ICD-10 as C00-C97 (except for C44), D45, D46, D47.1 and D47.3.

Source: AIHW, CA & AACR 2008.

Reference

AIHW, CA (Cancer Australia) & AACR (Australasian Association of Cancer Registries) 2008. Cancer survival and prevalence in Australia: cancers diagnosed from 1982 to 2004. Cancer series no. 42. Cat. No. CAN 38. Canberra: AIHW.

Further information

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