Aboriginal people are the first people of Australia and have strong cultures and communities. The Cancer Institute NSW is committed to achieving health equity for Aboriginal peoples in NSW and to ensuring services respond to the needs and aspirations of Aboriginal people.
Aboriginal cancer data in the NSW Cancer Plan
Working in partnership with Aboriginal communities to improve cancer outcomes is a key focus of the NSW Cancer Plan 2022–2027, which describes the disproportionate impact of cancer in Aboriginal communities.
Aboriginal people in NSW are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer, are likely to be younger when they are diagnosed, and are more likely to die of cancer than non-Aboriginal people. The reason for inequities in cancer outcomes for Aboriginal people are multiple and complex, and being able to measure these differences allow us to explore the factors that contribute to them and implement programs and initiatives to reduce them.
The trauma of colonisation and continuing impact of past health policies combined with ongoing experiences of racism and discrimination has led to feelings of mistrust and fear. Fear and capacity issues around leaving community or country for treatment and lack of culturally safe and responsive care are also major barriers for Aboriginal people to access health services.
Fear and stigma about cancer, due to a lack of understanding about the disease, can prevent Aboriginal people from participating in cancer screening or having symptoms checked. This can lead to later diagnosis causing poorer outcomes.
Aboriginal people and communities are also often dealing with complex personal and familial issues and lower levels of health literacy, which impact their health seeking behaviours. These barriers can also contribute to higher prevalence of certain lifestyle behaviours, such as tobacco use and alcohol consumption which can contribute towards higher cancer incidence.
A community-led approach to data
We have partnered with the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council (AH&MRC) to build a report on cancer in Aboriginal communities that is accessible to our partners working in Aboriginal health across the NSW health system.
This is an important first step to developing a community-led, strengths-based approach to the public sharing of data on cancer in Aboriginal communities in NSW.
Cancer in Aboriginal people in NSW
Key findings (based on latest data 2016-2020):
- Overall, Aboriginal people were 1.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with cancer and 2.1 times more likely to die from cancer than non-Aboriginal people.
- Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer incidence and mortality among Aboriginal people, accounting for 16% of cases and 28% of cancer deaths overall.
- Breast cancer, prostate cancer, bowel cancer and melanoma are common cancers diagnosed among Aboriginal people.
- Bowel cancer, breast cancer, liver cancer and pancreatic cancer are common causes of cancer death among Aboriginal people.
Understanding cancer incidence and mortality statistics
Different measures of cancer incidence and mortality can be used to provide information about the number of Aboriginal people diagnosed with cancer or dying from cancer, the rate of cancer in the Aboriginal population and how this compares to the non-Aboriginal population. The following statistics are available:
- Cancer incidence - the number of cases diagnosed in a population or group over a certain time period.
- Cancer mortality - the number of deaths from cancer in a population or group over a certain time period.
- Crude incidence and mortality rates - the number of cancer cases or deaths per 100,000 people, which gives an indication of disease burden.
- Age-standardised rate ratios - for the comparison of Aboriginal to non-Aboriginal age-standardised rates.
Note on the use of crude rates: Since no adjustments are made for age, they are not suitable for making comparisons over time or between different populations if there are differences in those populations’ age structures. For example, when comparing Aboriginal males to Aboriginal females or comparing the rate of cancer in the Aboriginal population to the non-Aboriginal population. An age-standardized rate is more meaningful for comparison, as it removes the influence of age structure on the summary rate.
Aboriginal cancer summary dashboard
The following dashboards present a summary of cancer incidence and mortality statistics for the most common cancers, age at diagnosis or death, among Aboriginal males and females.
Caution is required when interpreting measures and outcomes for Aboriginal people due to changing rates of Aboriginal identification across data collections and variations across geographies and socioeconomic groups.
Note: For privacy and confidentiality reasons, data rows with counts less than 5 are excluded from report outputs, but the data are included in relevant totals.
Click here for further information regarding data sources and special notes.
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View more detailed Aboriginal cancer and mortality statistics >
Acknowledgement of artwork
Learn more about the artist, Carissa Paglino, who developed the Aboriginal artwork elements used throughout these data and statistics.
Related pages
If you’d like to view national statistics on cancer in Aboriginal communities, visit the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
The Cancer Institute NSW has data on breast screening participation among Aboriginal people available from BreastScreen NSW.
Have feedback on our statistics?
Please email us at CINSW-ReportingAndIntelligenceDashboardsEnquiries@health.nsw.gov.au with any feedback on the Cancer statistics NSW module.
