National

One million Aussies have cancer, under-40s rates rise

By Stephanie Gardiner

Jul 14, 2026

Young people are increasingly being diagnosed with cancers but survival rates are improving, according to the most detailed picture of how the disease affects Australians.

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Some improvement in cancer outcomes for First Nations people has also been reported in Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data released on Tuesday.

Though First Nations people are twice as likely to be diagnosed with cancers with low survival rates than other Australians, the number of cases is in decline.

Cancer incidence has dropped from 342 cases per 100,000 people to 315 between 2011 and 2025, while the mortality rate dropped from 148 deaths to 105.

The detailed figures could help better direct healthcare, the Institute's spokesman Justin Harvey said.

"This is the most comprehensive cancer data available for First Nations people to date," Mr Harvey said in a statement.

"With a more complete picture of cancer outcomes, alongside more detailed information about geography and socio-economic status, it becomes possible to identify where disparities are greatest and where targeted action can make the biggest difference."

The analysis also confirmed cancer among younger people is on the rise with rates for those in their 30s increasing over the past 25 years, largely driven by more colorectal and thyroid cancers.

Thyroid, breast, prostate, colorectal, and kidney cancers were forcing up rates of the disease in people in their 40s.

But the mortality rates in that age group improved over the same time, from 60 to 37 deaths per 100,000 for people in their 40s and from 18 to 11 for people in their 30s.

It was estimated that more than 969,000 Australians diagnosed with cancer were alive at the end of 2025.

Prostate, breast and melanoma were the most common cancers among Australians, while lung, colorectal and pancreatic were the most deadly.

Five-year survival rates for brain cancer remained below 30 per cent, improving only slightly between the early 1990s and 2021.

While glioblastoma IDH-wildtype, which pioneering pathologist Richard Scolyer died of in June, accounted for 64 per cent of all brain cancers in 2021, it had a five-year survival of only 6.3 per cent.

Five-year survival rates for pancreatic cancer also remained low, at 14 per cent between 2017 and 2021.

Rates of melanoma in people over 50 continue to rise, but cases have long been decreasing in younger people thanks to the 1980s Slip Slop Slap campaign.