A new study shows that cancer incidence rates continue to increase while, at the same time, the rate of death from the disease has steadily decreased in Australia. The study, conducted by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, shows that over the last quarter of a century the burden and impact of cancer on Australians' health system has become significantly higher than any other disease.

According to the study, which was published online in the Asia-Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology, between 1982 and 2007 the number of cases of cancers increased as did the overall cancer rate, explained by the ageing and expanding Australian population. Nevertheless, over the same period cancer death rates decreased steadily for men and women, with the 5-year survival rate improving significantly since the start of the study period.

Additional disparities revealed by the study include a lower overall incidence rate of cancer among Indigenous Australians, compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts, while the overall death rate from the disease was higher among Indigenous Australians. This is likely due to later diagnoses, poorer uptake of treatments, and a higher number of additional diseases and health problems that may contribute to the rate of death among Indigenous populations.

The results also show that men were most often diagnosed with prostate cancer, women were most often diagnosed with breast cancer, and lung cancer was the most common cause of cancer death in both males and females.