Cancer incidence, mortality and relative survival

The cancer incidence, mortality and survival statistics displayed in the dashboards below are based on reporting guidelines established by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). These guidelines were put in place to enable comparison of cancer risks and outcomes across different populations. Only primary invasive cancers are included, while in situ and multiple primary neoplasms, although collected, are excluded. Cases diagnosed in residents of NSW and subsequent deaths are reported from 1972. 

The survival statistics reported here represent relative survival. Relative survival is a measure of the survival of people with cancer compared to the survival of the general population. It estimates the probability of surviving cancer for a given amount of time after a cancer diagnosis, in the absence of other causes of death.

Cancer incidence represents the number of new cases of cancer diagnosed in a population, in a given time period, while cancer mortality is the number of deaths from cancer in a population, in a given time period.  Crude and age-standardised rates of cancer diagnosis or death in specified populations are also presented. 

Should I use a crude rate or an age-standardised rate?

When analysing cancer data, it is important to decide whether to use a crude rate or an age-standardised rate. A crude rate provides information for example, on the number of new cases or deaths from cancer in a population at a given point in time, without adjusting for age. This is useful when the observed rate in a population is required, for example, to understand disease burden or assess the effectiveness of a health system. However, as the risk of cancer heavily depends on age, crude rates are not suitable for making comparisons over time or between different populations if there are differences in those populations’ age structures. An age-standardised rate is more meaningful for comparison, as it removes the influence of age structure on the summary rate. 

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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Cancer type summary dashboard

The following dashboards present a summary of statistics by cancer type and sex for cancer incidence, mortality and relative survival reports.

View more detailed cancer and mortality statistics >