Cancers in Australia in 2010. Attributable to modifiable factors

Wednesday 7 October 2015

Cancers in Australia in 2010. Attributable to modifiable factors

Many cancers are caused by exposure to environmental and lifestyle factors, offering opportunities to diminish the burden of cancer if these exposures can be minimised. Cancer is now the leading cause of death in Australia. In 2014, it is estimated that more than 45,500 people died from cancer in Australia and more than 123,500 new cancers were diagnosed, with the number of new cases expected to rise to 150,000 by 2020. In addition, about 374,000 Australians each year are estimated to develop BCC or SCC of the skin, and the costs of treating these cancers are higher than for any other cancer in Australia.
This series of reports was commissioned by Cancer Council Australia with the aim of estimating the burden of cancer arising in Australia that may be preventable. Numbers and population attributable fractions of cancer are presented in accompanying papers, published as open access in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health.