Median age at diagnosis is the middle value, i.e. 50% of cancer cases are diagnosed at an older age and 50% at a younger age compared to the median age.

A measure of the amount of disease associated with an exposure within a population. In a situation in which exposure to a given factor is believed to be a cause of a given disease, the population attributable fraction (or population aetiologic fraction) is the proportion of the disease in the total population that can be attributed to exposure to t [..]

Rates that are specific to the ACT are calculated by dividing the number of ACT resident cases by the ACT population at risk. In some cases, this results in an over-estimate. This occurs with service delivery statistics, where the denominator shows the ACT population, but a high percentage of services are given to non-ACT residents. Consequently (f [..]

Age-specific rates are calculated by dividing the number of cases occurring in each specified five-year age group (and sex) by the corresponding population in the same age group (and sex) and are expressed as an annual rate per 100,000 population.

The standardised rates presented on this website are based on the direct method of standardisation. This method adjusts for effects of differences in the age composition of different populations. The direct age-standardised rates are based on the weighted sum of age-specific (five-year age group) rates in the population. The weights used in the cal [..]

A person with co-morbidities has more than one disease or condition at the same time (e.g. diabetes and coronary heart disease) that may or may not be causally connected to each other.

A confidence interval (CI) is a computed interval with a given probability (calculated at 95% probability in this report) that a true value of a variable, such as a rate, mean or proportion, is contained within the interval. The confidence interval is the likely range of the true value.

A crude rate is an estimate of a proportion of a population that experiences a specific event over a specified period. It is calculated by dividing the number of events recorded for a given period by the number at risk of the event in the population.

A cumulative rate is the proportion of the population at risk that will develop an outcome in a given period of time. It is a directly standardised rate with equal weights in each age group of interest and zero weight otherwise and is calculated from the age-specific rates. In this report, ages 0-74 years are used as an approximation to an average [..]

A measure of the burden of disease on a defined population. A DALY is equivalent to the loss of one year of ‘healthy’ life. As such, it is an indication of where health gains can be made.