2025/07/08 by Brigid M. Lynch, Matthew T. Warkentin, Melissa M. Moore +6 · 1 voice
Medicine · Health Professions · #Global Cancer Incidence and Screening #Medical Coding and Health Information #Health Promotion and Cardiovascular Prevention
paper · doi:10.1016/j.anzjph.2025.100252
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the lives saved because of cancer control measures implemented in Australia, since age-standardised mortality rates (ASMRs) have been available. METHODS: Secondary data analysis using publicly available data. We estimated ASMRs using the (unadjusted) age-specific rates and the corresponding population counts. We also estimated the expected number of cancer deaths, the number of avoided cancer deaths and standardised mortality ratios (SMR). RESULTS: The overall ASMR for females peaked in 1985 at 116.50 per 100,000 (95% CI: 114.40, 118.60) and declined to 81.36 (95% CI: 80.24, 82.48) in 2018. For males, the overall ASMR peaked at 188.27 per 100,000 in 1987 (95% CI: 185.38, 191.16), declining to 116.08 per 100,000 (95% CI: 114.67, 117.48) in 2018. We estimated that 66,733 and 164,358 cancer deaths have been avoided for females and males, respectively. This corresponds to an 11% (SMR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.89, 0.89) and 20% (SMR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.80, 0.80) reduction in overall cancer mortality. CONCLUSIONS: When considering overall cancer rates, over 230,000 cancer-related deaths have been avoided in Australia since 1950. IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH: These estimates demonstrate the value of sustained cancer control investment, particularly in primary and secondary prevention.