Cancer statistics in Tasmania

Cancer incidence & mortality in Tasmania¹

Last updated: 15 August 2022

* Note: Non-melanoma skin cancers are not included

In 2019, there were 3,723 new cases of cancer diagnosed and 898 cancer-related deaths among Tasmanian residents.
In 2019, the risk of developing cancer by the age of 75 was 1 in 2.9 for males and 1 in 3.4 for females. By the age of 85, the risk was 1 in 1.9 for males and 1 in 2.4 for females.
The most commonly diagnosed cancers in Tasmania in 2019 (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) were prostate cancer, breast cancer, melanoma, colorectal cancer and lung cancer.
The most common cancer-related deaths in Tasmania in 2019 were from lung, colorectal, prostate and breast cancers.

Cancer incidence & mortality in Tasmania, compared to the rest of Australia^2,3

In 2018, Tasmania had the third lowest rate of age-standardized cancer diagnosis (471.8 per 100,000) of all Australian jurisdictions. (Age-standardizing adjusts for the age and size of a population to make comparisons more accurate.)
Tasmania had the second highest age-standardized rate of death from all-cancers (168.9 per 100,000 people), after the Northern Territory in 2019.
Tasmania has the highest age-standardised mortality rate in Australia for colorectal cancer (20.1 per 100,000 people) in 2019.
Tasmania has the second highest age-standardised mortality rate in Australia for lung cancer (33.0 per 100,000 people) in 2019.
Tasmania has the second highest age-standardised mortality rate in Australia for prostate cancer (26.7 per 100,000 males) in 2019.

For more Tasmanian statistics, visit the Tasmanian Cancer Registry.

National cancer statistics

Cancer is a leading cause of death in Australia – just under 49,000 people died from cancer in 2020. Cancer accounts for about 3 in 10 deaths in Australia⁴.
The number of deaths from cancer has increased steadily from 24,900 in 1982 to around 48,800 in 2020. This is mainly due to population growth and ageing.
In contrast, the age-standardised mortality rate for all cancers has decreased by 29%, from 209 deaths per 100,000 people in 1982 to (an estimated) 149 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021.
More than 4 in 5 deaths from cancer occur in people over 60 years of age⁵.
Around 70% of people diagnosed with cancer in Australia will survive more than five years after diagnosis.
The 5-year survival rate for all-cancers-combined has increased from 51% in 1988-1992 to 70% in 2013-2017⁶.
Around 417,000 cases of non-melanoma skin cancers were treated in 2010⁷, with 722 Australians dying from non-melanoma skin cancer in 2020⁸. More than two-thirds of those deaths were among men.
In 2015-16, cancer in Australia cost the health system over $10 billion⁹.
Over $1.7 billion was spent on cancer research between 2006 and 2011 in Australia, and over $252 million was spent between 2016 and 2018. The Australian Government was the largest contributor, at 58% and 74% in the respective periods¹⁰.

For more national cancer statistics, visit:

Global cancer statistics¹¹

The World Health Organisation estimates that Australia and New Zealand were ranked the countries with the world’s highest age-standardised incidence rates for all-cancers (including non-melanoma skin cancer) in 2020, at 452 per 100,000 and 423 per 100,000 respectively.

Ireland, USA, Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, France and Hungary were ranked the eight next-highest countries for cancer incidence in the world (in 2020).

Excluding non-melanoma skin cancer, Australia ranks the 7th highest country globally for new cancer diagnoses (2020 data) at 312 per 100,000.

For more global cancer statistics, visit the World Cancer Research Fund cancer facts & figures

References

Ragaini BS, Albion T, Otahal P, Roydhouse J. Cancer in Tasmania: Incidence and Mortality 2019. Menzies Institute for Medical Research Tasmania, Hobart, August 2022
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2021. Cancer in Australia 2021. Cancer series no. 133. Cat. no. CAN 144. Canberra: AIHW.
AIHW Cancer Data in Australia (Book 7: State & Territory Supplementary Tables); Last updated 01 Jul 2022; Viewed 15 Aug 2022; available at: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/cancer/cancer-data-in-australia/data
Australian Bureau of Statistics. Causes of Death, Australia, 2020; Latest release: 29 Sep 2021, viewed 15 Aug 2022, available at: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/causes-death/causes-death-australia/latest-release
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2021. Cancer in Australia 2021. Cancer series no. 133. Cat. no. CAN 144. Canberra: AIHW.
Cancer Australia, Cancer in Australia statistics: All cancers; viewed 08 Aug 2022; available at: https://www.canceraustralia.gov.au/impacted-cancer/what-cancer/cancer-australia-statistics
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Submission, 2014, Skin Cancer in Australia, AIHW submission (number 16) to the Australian Parliament Standing Committee on Health, p.3. Viewed 08 Aug 2022; available at: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Health/Skin_Cancer/Submissions
ABS, Causes of Death 2020, released 29 Sept 2021, viewed 08 Aug 2022; available at: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/causes-death/causes-death-australia/latest-release
AIHW 2021. Health system expenditure on cancer and other neoplasms in Australia, 2015–16. Cancer series no. 131. Cat. no. CAN 142. Canberra: AIHW.
Cancer Australia, Australian Government, Cancer research in Australia; viewed 15 Aug 2022; available at: https://www.canceraustralia.gov.au/research/grants-and-funding/cancer-research-in-australia
W.H.O., International Agency for Research on Cancer, 2020. Cancer Today; Data tables for cancer incidence visualization by country; viewed 08 Aug 2022; available at: https://gco.iarc.fr/today/home