Notes on the data: Premature mortality by selected cause - 0 to 74 years

Deaths from colorectal cancer, persons aged 0 to 74 years, 2017 to 2021

Policy context: Colorectal cancer refers to cancer of the colon, rectum and anal canal and is more commonly referred to as bowel cancer [1]. Most bowel cancers are thought to develop from non-malignant growths on the lining of the wall of the bowel. These non-malignant growths are called adenomas or polyps. While the causes of bowel cancer are not fully understood, there are a number of factors associated with the risk of developing the disease. These factors include: increasing age; a personal history of bowel cancer or polyp; a family history of bowel cancer, adenoma or gynaecological cancer; and a personal history of inflammatory bowel disease [1].

The Australian Institute of health and Welfare found that bowel cancer accounted for 2.0% of the total disease burden in Australia, making it the 15th most burdensome disease overall (13th in males and 15th in females). Bowel cancer was the second most burdensome cancer in 2018, behind lung cancer [2].

Age-standardised mortality rates for colorectal cancer increased from 1968 (31.1 per 100,000 population) to 1985 (32.8 per 100,000 population ), after which they decreased to 18.7 per 100,000 in 2016 [3]. The trends were similar for males and females, although the male rate in 2016 was 47.4% higher than the female rate [3].

For 2017 to 2021, 45.3% of all deaths from colorectal cancer were premature – these and other details are available here.

References

National Cancer Institute (NCI). Colon cancer treatment (PDQ) – patient version [Internet]. Available from: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/colon/Patient; last accessed 18 October 2013.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2022) National Bowel Cancer Screening Program monitoring report 2022, catalogue number CAN 148, AIHW, Australian Government.
Cancer mortality, National Cancer Control Indicators. Available from: https://ncci.canceraustralia.gov.au/outcomes/cancer-mortality/cancer-mortality; Last accessed 23 March 2022.

Notes: International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD-10) codes: C18-C20, C26.0

For detailed data files released since 2007, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has applied a staged approach to the coding of cause of death which affects the number of records available for release at any date. In general, the latest year’sdata are designated preliminary, the second latest as revised and the data for the remaining years as final. For further information about the ABS revisions process see the following and related sites: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/3303.0Explanatory+Notes12012.

Data published here are from the following releases: 2017, final; 2018, revised; and 2019, 2020, and 2021, preliminary.

Geography: Data available by Population Health Area, Local Government Area, Primary Health Network, Quintile of socioeconomic disadvantage of area and Quintiles within PHNs, and Remoteness Area

Numerator: Deaths from colorectal cancer at ages 0 to 74 years

Detail of analysis: Average annual indirectly age-standardised rate per 100,000 population (aged 0 to 74 years); and/or indirectly age-standardised ratio, based on the Australian standard.

Source: Data compiled by PHIDU from deaths data based on the 2017 to 2021 Cause of Death Unit Record Files supplied by the Australian Coordinating Registry and the Victorian Department of Justice, on behalf of the Registries of Births, Deaths and Marriages and the National Coronial Information System. The population is the average of the ABS Estimated Resident Population (ERP) for Australia, 30 June 2017 to 30 June 2021.