The National Cancer Registry is now in its 26th year of data-collection, having begun registration of cancers and related tumours in 1994. Over this time the registry has provided surveillance of trends in cancer incidence, treatment, survival, and prevalence, along with associated clinical and demographic aspects of the patient population. Previous annual reports have documented increases in numbers of cases diagnosed annually, but also that rates of cancer, corrected for population and age, have begun to level off or even decline for many cancer types. Survival improvements over time have also been identified across most cancer types, associated with improvements in cancer treatment and other interventions, notably screening for some cancers.

This year’s report estimates that numbers of invasive cancers (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) have risen to about 23,890 cases diagnosed annually during 2017-2019 (12,770 males and 11,120 females), or 35,441 cases including all invasive cancers. As also noted in last year’s report, these figures represent almost a doubling of case-numbers since the registry’s early years (1994-1996), much of the increase being a reflection of population growth and ageing. Just over 9,000 deaths from cancer currently occur per year.