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Age

Age refers to a person's age (in whole years) at the time of a specific event.

Age is calculated by truncating the age value to the next smallest integer, e.g. both 45.1 years and 45.9 years are truncated to 45 years.

Age-standardised rate (ASR)

The hypothetical rate, expressed as the number of cases per 100,000 persons, of cancer incidence or mortality in a group of people if their age distribution is the same as that in a standard or reference population.
 
An ASR is used to compare cancer incidence or mortality between populations with different sizes and age structures. The different populations can represent different states or countries, as well as different time periods for the same geographic region.
 
The ASR allows tracking of incidence and mortality trends that are not due to changes or differences in population size or age. Cancer incidence and mortality generally increases over time as a result of population growth and ageing. Similarly, cancer incidence will usually differ between two populations of similar sizes if one population is older than the other.
 
The standard populations used in the calculation of an ASR are listed below.

Cancer

Cancers start in specific parts of the body and the site at which a cancer first appears is called the primary site.The following cancer site groups are based on International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM) primary site and were developed by a committee of clinicians and cancer specialists.

Notes: *Lymphoma in systemic organs such as stomach are counted as lymphoma (i.e. not as a cancer of the host organ). Melanoma cancer is based on morphology range M872xx-M879xx regardless of primary site. Since, a person already has melanoma cancer will not be counted in other cancer regardless of primary site.

First Nations peoples

The terminology First Nations peoples refers to the Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their nations, societies, and language groups that have occupied these lands since time immemorial.

Incidence

The number of new cases of invasive cancers among Queensland residents over a given period of time.

Incidence per 100K

Incidence per 100,000 people in the Queensland population.

Incidence ASR Australia per 100K

Incidence rate standardised to the age distribution of Australia in 2001 expressed per 100,000 Queensland population.

See ASR for more information.

Indigenous regions (IREGs)

Indigenous Regions (IREGs) are large geographical areas based on historical boundaries. The larger population of Indigenous Regions enables highly detailed analysis.

Click here for more information about IREGs. 

Kaplan Meier survival

Kaplan Meier is the method use to estimate the probability of surviving beyond a specific time from diagnosis, with failure (or event) defined as death from any cause.

Lifetime risk of diagnosis (or death)

Lifetime risk refers to the odds that someone will be diagnosed (or die from) cancer over the course of their lifetime. Lifetime risk within the Explorer is calculated using an average life expectancy of 85 years.  Lifetime risks presented are average risks for the Queensland population and an individuals own risk may be higher or lower than this depending on particular risk factors.

Local Government Areas (LGAs)

A Local Government Area (LGA) is one of the spatial units defined under the non-ABS structures of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS).

Click here to see more about Queensland LGAs. 

Median age

The age that divides a population into two halves: one older than the median, the other younger than the median.

See Age for more information.

Mortality (deaths)

The number of deaths attributed to cancer in a defined population during a specified time period regardless of when the diagnosis of cancer was made.

Mortality per 100K

Mortality per 100,000 people in the Queensland population.

Mortality ASR Australia per 100K

Mortality rate standardised to the age distribution of Australia in 2001, expressed per 100,000 Queensland population.

See Age for more information.

Non First Nations peoples

A person who does not identify as Aboriginal peoples and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples (First Nations peoples).

Overall survival rate (1-year, 2-year, 5-year, 10-year, 15-year, 20-year, 25-year)

The percentage of cancer cases still alive after a specified period of time from diagnosis.

Population

Rates within the Cancer Data Explorer are available at different levels of granularity over time due to the varying availability of required population data.  The population data used for the calculation of rates within the Cancer Data Explorer are sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and Statistical Reporting and Coordination, Statistical Services Branch, Queensland Health (SSB).

1982 - 2001

Rates (both rates per 100k and age-standardised rates) are available by:

- year

- sex

- five-year age-group. 

No further breakdown by geography, SES or First Nations status is available.  Population data is sourced from the ABS.

2002 - present

Rates (both rates per 100k and age-standardised rates) are available by:

- year

- sex

- five-year age-group

- First Nations status

- geographical boundaries

- SES (location-based measure)

Population data is sourced from SSB.

LGA boundaries are applied using the 2023 edition of the LGA boundaries. PHN and Indigenous Region boundaries are applied as per the ASGS 2021 hierarchy.

Click on the link for more information on the data sources:

ABS: population data between 1982 to 2001

SSB: population data between 2002 to 2022.

Prevalence

The number of people living with cancer at a given point in time.
 
Cancer prevalence is difficult to estimate at population level. This is because the number of people who undergo treatment for cancer and are subsequently cured (and therefore no longer living with cancer) is usually unknown. In the absence of this information, cancer prevalence is estimated with the assumption that all surviving patients who were diagnosed with cancer over a period of time are still living with cancer at the end of that period.
 
Prevalence 5-years for a given calendar year is calculated by adding all persons diagnosed with cancer over that year and the 4-year period preceding it and subtracting all those who died on or before the end of that year.
 
Prevalence 25-years is calculated similarly for all surviving patients diagnosed over 25 years leading up to and including the given calendar year.
 
Prevalence Lifetime is the total number of surviving patients diagnosed since 1982 when the Queensland Cancer Registry began operating.

Primary Health Networks (PHNs)

Primary Health Networks (PHN) (2023) – Statistical Area Level 2 (2021) is sourced from the ABS.

Click here for more information about Primary Health Networks (PHN). 

Projection (Incidence/Mortality projection)

The projections of incidence and mortality counts for Queensland have been obtained by applying the most recent 5-year age-specific incidence and mortality rates (by age, sex and SA2) to the corresponding population projections by age, sex and SA2.  Population projections were obtained from the Queensland Government Statistician's Office (https://www.qgso.qld.gov.au/).

The population projections are only available in certain years such as 2026, 2031 and 2036. To obtain projection estimates for other years between these, the interpolation (linear trend) method may be used.

Queensland Hospital and Health Services

For populations, a Hospital and Health Service (HHS) is a Queensland Health-defined geographic area defined by a collection of Statistical Area Level 2s (SA2s).

Click here for a map of Queensland HHS. 
 
The list of HHS and their geographic boundaries can be downloaded here.
 
For public hospital and health service facilities, a HHS is a group of Queensland Health owned and operated facilities that provide health resources and services mainly, but not exclusively, to people who reside in a particular geographic area.

Relative survival (1-year, 2-year, 5-year, 10-year, 15-year, 20-year, 25-year)

Relative survival is the ratio of the survival rate of people with cancer compared to the expected survival of those people without cancer, adjusted for age, sex and year of diagnosis.

Remoteness (of residence/death)

Remoteness of residence is based on a modified version of the 2021 Australian Standard Geographical Standard (ASGS). In this modified version the Statistical Area 2 (SA2) localities in the Townsville Local Government Area (LGA) are assigned to the Major City category rather than the Outer Regional category used in the original ASGS.  This is due to the availability of tertiary level cancer treatment services in Townsville.

Click here for more information about remoteness categories.

Sex

Refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define men and women.

Socioeconomic group

Socioeconomic classification based on the Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), a census-based measure of social and economic well-being developed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and aggregated at the level of Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2s).

Click here for more information about SEIFA. 

The ABS uses SEIFA scores to rank regions into ten groups (or deciles) numbered 1 to 10, with 1 being the most disadvantaged group and 10 being the most affluent group. This ranking is useful at the national level, but the number of people in each decile often becomes too small for meaningful comparisons when applied to a subset of the population. For this reason, the Explorer further aggregates SEIFA deciles into 5 socioeconomic groups (quintiles):

 Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4)

Statistical Area Level 4s (SA4s) are geographical areas built from whole Statistical Area Level 3s (SA3s). 

Click here for more information about ASGS SA4s. 

Year

The term Year refers to the calendar year in which a particular event occurs. 

Click here to view excel file for QCCAT cancer group, QCCAT AYA cancer group, residence mapping (HHS, Indigenous Region, LGA, PHN, Remoteness).