• At least one in three people in Victoria will develop a cancer (other than non-melanocytic skin cancer) by the time they reach 75 years of age.
• Cancer accounts for about 30% of all deaths in Victoria and is the leading cause of death in the state. By comparison, traffic accidents account for 1.2% of all deaths in Victoria.
• The incidence of cancer is strongly related to age. Nearly 70% of tumours were detected in people aged over 60. 
• More men than women were diagnosed with cancer in 2006. Approximately 126 men for every 100 women were diagnosed with cancer.
• Of all new cases of cancer in 2006, the most common sites in which cancer was detected were the prostate (17%), bowel (14%), breast (13%), and lung (9%).
• Breast cancer is the leading cancer in women (28%) and prostate cancer is the leading cancer in men (30%).
• The leading causes of death from cancer were cancers of the lung (19%), bowel (11%), prostate (8%), and breast (7%).
• Lung cancer is the major cause of death by cancer for both men and women. In 2005, breast cancer was the major cause of death by cancer for women, and lung cancer for men.

Cancer statistics for the Loddon Mallee Region in 2006

The following data have been provided for LMICS by the Cancer Council of Victoria. This first table shows the distribution of the number of new cases diagnosed in 2006 by Local Government Area.

This second table shows the distribution of the number of new cases diagnosed in 2006 types by site.