The following statistics are taken from the Western Australian Cancer Registry (Department of Health WA). Records are based on notification of cancers from pathologists, haematologists and radiation oncologists, and cancer information from death records.

Cancer is the leading cause of death, accounting for 28.7% of all Australian deaths. In 2003, 37,907 Australians died of cancer, that’s more than 700 people per week.

In 2005, there were 9,151 new cases of cancer diagnosed in Western Australia. More males than females were diagnosed with cancer, 5,163 cases in males or 56% and 3,988 cases in females or 44%.

The estimated lifetime risk of being diagnosed with cancer by the time you reach 75 years of age is 1 in 3 for males and 1 in 4 for females. The estimated lifetime risk of death due to cancer before age 75 years of age is 1 in 8 for males and 1 in 12 for females.

Here in Western Australia during 2005 there were 2,004 deaths due to cancer in males and 1,428 in females.

Children’s Cancer

In children under the age of 15 years, there were 50 cases of cancer in 2005, 29 males and 21 females (15.2 per 100,000 in males, 11.4 per 100,000 in females). Cancer at this age is a rare disease and annual variation in numbers and types is considerable. Leukaemia’s predominated, followed by tumours of the central nervous system and Lymphomas. The risk of a child developing cancer before the age of 15 years was 1 in 460 for boys and 1 in 610 for girls.

The estimated 0 -14 years population in Western Australia in 2005 was 399,273 (204,632 males and 194,642 females).

Diagnoses are routinely reported using the WHO sponsored International Classification of Childhood Cancer into 12 major diagnostic groups based primarily on tumour morphology.

The most common tumours diagnosed in children in 2005 were Leukaemia’s, myeloproliferative and myelodysplastic neoplasm’s accounting for 46% of cases. Primary central nervous system tumours were the second most common group with 8 cases. The most common individual tumour type was acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, 16 children with an unusual male to female ratio of 15:1. There were 2 skin cancers reported in Western Australian children in 2005. Over the period 1996 to 2005, the all cancer incidence rate did not change significantly for males or for females under 15 years of age.

There were 11 cancer related deaths (4 males, 7 females) in children in 2005. Age adjusted death rates were 2.0 per 100,000 in males (lower than in 2004) and 3.5 per 100,000 in females (higher).

Cancer in the 15 – 39 years of age range

In the 15 – 39 years age range, there were 530 cancer diagnoses in 2005 (246 males, 284 females). Melanoma was most common in males (72 cases) and breast cancer was most common in females (66 cases). Second ranked cancers were testicular cancer in males (46 cases) and melanoma in females (57 cases). Thyroid and cervical cancers were the next most common in females, with lymphoma and colorectal cancer following next in males. Colorectal cancer was relatively more common in males in this age range, than in 2004.

Mortality among persons aged 15 – 39 years showed 59 cancer related deaths in 2005 (23 in males, and 36 in females). Among males, melanoma (4 deaths) and lymphoma (3 deaths) were the leading causes of cancer related death in this age group. In females, malignant brain tumours predominated (9 deaths), followed by lung and breast cancers (4 deaths each). As cancer related death in this age group is relatively uncommon, these rankings remain very variable from year to year.

Cancer in the 40 – 64 years age group

In the age range 40 – 64 years, breast cancer continued to dominate reported incident cancers (704 cases, 40% of all female cancers in this age group, little changed in the last 4 years). The risk of cancer occurring in this age range was 1 in 7 for both males and females. More cancers occurred in males (52%) than in females, with prostate cancer (29%), melanoma (13%) and colorectal cancer (11%) most common. In females, melanoma (11%) and colorectal cancer (8%) ranked highest after breast cancer.

Mortality among persons aged 40 – 64 years showed lung cancer was the most common cause of cancer related death in males (108 deaths, age adjusted rate of 33 per 100,000 males; little change since 2001). Other leading causes of death in males were colorectal cancer (78 deaths), melanoma (45 deaths), and stomach cancer (29 deaths). Major causes among females were breast cancer (95 deaths), lung cancer (61 deaths), pancreatic cancer (30 deaths) and colorectal cancer (29 deaths). Cancers of unknown primary site remained less among causes of death in this age range, than in recent years to 2003.

Cancer in persons aged 65 and over

In people over aged 65 and over prostate cancer (915 cases) outnumbered any other specific cancer type in either sex and accounted for 31% of all diagnoses in males. Rates appear to be rising in recent years, after major changes and unstable rates in the 1990’s. Among females, breast cancer predominated (384 cases, 20%). Other common cancer types in this age group were colorectal cancer (12% in males, 18% in females) and lung cancer (15%, 11%). These proportions have been relatively stable over recent years. Melanoma of the skin was the fourth most common cancer type in males and females (8% in both).

Mortality for persons 65 years and over showed lung cancer was the most common cause of cancer related death in both sexes. Among males, lung cancer caused 368 deaths, at a rate of 300 per 100,000 people, being 25% of cancer related deaths. Among females, it was responsible for 197 deaths at 138 per 100,000, 19% of all cancer deaths. Colorectal cancer ranked third in males (160 deaths, 11%) and second in females (156 deaths, 15%). Deaths due to prostate cancer ranked second in males (219 deaths, 15%). Breast cancer was the third most common cause of cancer related death in females (124 deaths, 12%). Cancers of unknown primary site were also a major cause of death in this age range (143 deaths).

For a more comprehensive look at statistics about cancer in Western Australia please visit the web site at

Web: http://www.health.wa.gov.au/wacr/