Resources for Researchers
and Clinicians

Researchers working
Cancer atlas for

Researchers and Clinicians

The Australian Cancer Atlas 2.0 provides cancer researchers and clinicians with a national perspective of how the burden of cancer varies by geographical area. It does this by:

  • Developing and applying spatial and spatio-temporal models within the Bayesian framework to generate the statistics
  • Developing novel visualisation methods to convey both the modelled estimates and their uncertainty
  • Disseminating these maps and other visualisations through a freely accessible, interactive online system
WHAT DOES THE LATEST VERSION OF THE

Australian Cancer Atlas offer researchers and clinicians?

The Australian Cancer Atlas 2.0 shows unrivalled visualisations of how the impact of cancer varies by geographical area across Australia. As well as diagnosis and survival rates available in the previous version, the Australian Cancer Atlas 2.0 now provides a nation-wide view of:

  • Cancer risk factors
  • Screening participation
  • Clinical characteristics
  • Some treatment utilisation

It also models changes in geographical patterns over time, a crucial function for any researcher and clinicians wishing to understand how the variation has changed over time.

Researcher working

How has the Australian Cancer Atlas been used by researchers and clinicians?

The Australian Cancer Atlas has been used by researchers to develop a greater understanding of cancer’s geographical patterns. From raising important questions about the relationship between geographical patterns in melanoma and possible contributions of early diagnosis and management, to providing maps of liver cancer diagnosis and survival that facilitate planning effective viral hepatitis responses, to providing the template for similar cancer atlases in other countries, the Australian Cancer Atlas continues to significantly impact cancer research.

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IKNL – Netherlands Comprehensive Cancer Centre

Our novel statistical and visualisation methods have informed the development of a Dutch Cancer Atlas by the IKNL in the the Netherlands, which received over 1 million views at its launch.

“The opportunity to collaborate with the Australian Cancer Atlas team has substantially reduced the development time we would have needed to generate a Cancer Atlas for the Netherlands. I hope that this collaboration is a prime example of the fact that the work at Cancer Council Queensland is of value not only within Australia, but also beyond its borders.”

Dr Jaike Praagman, Epidemiologist

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WHO Collaborating Centre for Viral Hepatitis

The newly launched Viral Hepatitis Mapping Project uses data from the Australian Cancer Atlas.

“With the recent availability of the Australian Cancer Atlas, we can now map the incidence of liver cancer, which is the fastest rising cause of cancer mortality in Australia and kills up to one quarter of people living with viral hepatitis. This type of detailed mapping is key to the identification of priority areas to inform public health action in reducing this burden.”


Jennifer MacLachlan (epidemiologist) and Professor Benjamin Cowie (director)

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QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute

“In my own area of expertise – melanoma – the patterns of diagnosis and survival as presented in the atlas are thought-provoking, and challenge some of our assumptions about how this highly prevalent cancer is diagnosed and managed in Australia. This invaluable tool is now indispensable for cancer epidemiologists. Indeed, audiences at international conferences are awestruck when I present images from the Atlas. To my knowledge, the Cancer Atlas is unparalleled globally and represents a landmark for how medical statistics can be made accessible to a wide variety of end-users.”


Professor David Whiteman

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Asbestos Diseases Research Institute

“I am an epidemiologist with the Asbestos Diseases Research Institute with an interest in mesothelioma. I was exploring the cancer atlas, which I think is an amazing resource – congratulations.”


Dr Matthew Soeberg

How to use the Australian Cancer Atlas 2.0

If you’d like help navigating the Australian Cancer Atlas 2.0, head to our How to Use page for detailed instructions for gathering insights and understanding what they mean.

Share your story

Have you used the Australian Cancer Atlas to further your work or in your community? We’d love to hear from you. Please reach out to: atlas@cancerqld.org.au or, fill out our contact form:

staff-05
Phone

(07) 3634 5100

Address

553 Gregory Terrace, Fortitude Valley, QLD, 4006

Mailing Address

PO Box 201, Spring Hill, QLD, 4004

If you’ve got questions, comments or feedback about the Australian Cancer Atlas 2.0 we’d love to hear from you.

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