Since individual geographical areas often have small numbers of people diagnosed with cancer, statistical modelling is used to provide more stability in the mapped patterns and protect the confidentiality of people living in each area.
This modelling starts with the assumption there is no variation in cancer burden, and then sees whether there is sufficient evidence in the observed data to change that assumption.
This is why we need to focus on the more common cancers; if we included cancer types with very small numbers all we would see is a map showing the burden for those cancers is the same in every area across Australia.
These more common cancers were chosen to be consistent with the most commonly diagnosed cancers as reported by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. This includes all cancers combined, along with twenty-nine other cancer types. These includes some combinations of cancer, such as rare cancer types combined, rare blood cancers, soft tissue sarcomas, neuroendocrine tumours, oral cancers and head & neck cancers. Some of these cancers are sex-specific, such as prostate and testicular cancer among men and cervical, ovarian, vulvar and uterine cancer among women. The results for breast cancer are only reported for females in the Atlas. While some men are diagnosed with, and die from breast cancer, the small numbers diagnosed were not sufficient to report in the Atlas.
