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Cancer Risk and Survival

 

New cases of cancer are rising

The number of new cases of cancer is expected to continue to rise for the foreseeable future, largely due to our growing and aging population. The figure below shows the growth of new cases of cancer over the 20 years between 1984 and 2014. 


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Report date: January 2014

Data source: Cancer Care Ontario (Ontario Cancer Registry, 2013)

Prepared by: Cancer Care Ontario, Prevention and Cancer Control (Prevention and Surveillance)

Notes:
  1. Shaded rates are estimates.

40% to 50% of cancers are associated with preventable risk factors.

See our report, Cancer Risk Factors in Ontario , for more information about preventable cancer risk factors.

Cancer survival is improving

Five-year relative survival ratios vary from cancer to cancer, but most are improving. Better survival rates mean that the number of people living with cancer is rising. Patients, families, caregivers and the health system will face new challenges as more and more people move from active treatment to survivorship.

The graph below shows the 5-year relative survival ratio for 14 common cancers in Ontario. 


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Report date: January 2014

Data source: Cancer Care Ontario (Ontario Cancer Registry, 2013)

Prepared by: Cancer Care Ontario, Prevention and Cancer Control (Prevention and Surveillance)

Notes:
  1. See Technical Information for method.
  2. Cancer cases defined by Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results Site recode (see http://seer.cancer.gov/siterecode/icdo3_d01272003/)
  3. Bolded rates are significantly different from 1996–2000 time period
  4. 2006–2010 ratios for some cancer types are lower than those reported in previous years due to the use of updated life tables.