3303.0 - Causes of Death, Australia, 2014 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 08/03/2016   
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SELECTED CANCERS

In 2014, neoplasms accounted for three of the top ten leading causes of death for the total population. Trachea, bronchus and lung cancer (C33-C34) was the fourth leading cause, Blood and lymph cancer (including leukaemia) (C81-C96) was the seventh leading cause, and Colon, sigmoid, rectum and anus cancer (C18-C21) was the eighth leading cause.

Breast cancer (C50) predominantly affects females, while Prostate cancer (C61) only affects males. Despite this, both are in the top 20 leading causes of death. Breast cancer was the sixth leading cause of death for females, accounting for 2,814 deaths in 2014, at a standardised death rate of 19.6 per 100,000. Prostate cancer was the sixth leading cause of death for males in 2014, accounting for 3,102 deaths at a standardised death rate of 25.8 per 100,000.

When analysing mortality data, it is important to consider a variety of different measures, rather than relying solely on counts of deaths. For instance, despite the similarities in death count between males and females for these two cancers, breast cancer accounted for significantly more years of potential life lost in females in 2014, compared to years of life lost from prostate cancer in males (30,145 and 7,562 respectively). This difference can be attributed to the fact that women who died from breast cancer in 2014 had a lower age at death than men who died from prostate cancer (median age of 70.5 and 82.4, respectively).