In a world first, national data on childhood cancer stage at diagnosis has been released, showing that a high proportion of the most common childhood cancers are diagnosed at a limited stage, before they have spread to other parts of the body.

The new data published by Cancer Australia covers the 16 most common childhood cancers, which represent approximately three-quarters of all childhood cancers diagnosed in Australia.

Children with the most severe forms of childhood brain cancer will benefit from a $5 million boost in funding through the Australian Brain Cancer Mission.

The Australian Brain Cancer Mission has provided $5 million over five years toward the Zero Childhood Brain Cancer Program to improve survival rates for children with high risk brain cancer. Scientists and doctors will work collaboratively to identify and deliver the most effective treatment plan, specifically tailored to suit each child’s individual disease.

Cancer Australia has released new cancer data across 30 cancer types on its website.

Key data, information and trends over time is presented for 30 key cancers and all cancers combined. For all cancers combined, the number of new cases of cancer diagnosed increased from 47,443 in 1982 to 127,887 in 2014. Individuals with cancer had an increased chance of survival, from 49% in 1985-1989 to 69% in 2010-2014 compared to their counterparts in the general Australian population.

The data is sourced from the Cancer compendium: information and trends by cancer type, released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

Visit Cancer Australia's website for updated statistics.

On 1 August 2018, World Lung Cancer Day,  Cancer Australia raised awareness of lung cancer and reminded Australians of symptoms to look out for.

For more information on lung cancer, including diagnosis, treatment and finding support, please visit Cancer Australia's website.