Kenmore and a number of other Brisbane suburbs are at high risk of melanoma, according to a new innovative cancer atlas.
Launched in September 2018, the Australian Cancer Atlas is a state-of-the-art interactive atlas that puts cancer statistics on the map. This app was developed to give Australians a visual insight of cancer incidence in their suburb or town.
The atlas provides statistical representation of 20 of the most common cancers in Australia. Diagnoses and excess deaths are compared against the Australian average for each particular cancer type.
In the case of melanoma, Kenmore is shown to have diagnoses 73% above the national average. Excess deaths figure is pegged to be 12% below the Australian average.
Suburbs surrounding Kenmore show figures of more than 60% above the Australian average in terms of diagnoses. Kenmore’s neighbouring suburb, Fig Tree Pocket, has one of the highest diagnoses score for melanoma at 93% above the national average.
The statistics should not come as a surprise since Australia is known to have one of the highest rates of melanoma diagnoses in the world. A huge portion of melanoma incidence in the country occurs in Queensland.
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About the App
Through the Cancer Atlas, the proponents hope to drive new studies that will result in effective policies to help control cancer.
The interactive app is the product of years of collaboration amongst Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Cancer Council Queensland and FrontierSI. The atlas puts together the efforts of statisticians, cancer researchers, visualisation experts and IT specialists.
Mapping cancer incidence is a way for researchers to better understand cancer patterns in different areas.
“In 2018 an estimated 138,000 Australians will be diagnosed with cancer, but we know that some people face greater risks of diagnosis and death than others, due to a mix of lifestyle characteristics, behaviour, genetics and other unknown factors,” said Cancer Council Queensland CEO Chris McMillan.
“The atlas enables readers to easily visualise those differences and offers critical insight into patterns of cancer and outcomes in Australia, depending on where people live, which can be used to drive research and policies going forward.”
Using the Atlas
To use the app, simply go to atlas.cancer.org.au/app and click the type of cancer in the dropdown at the upper right corner of the screen. Search for the suburb or zoom in or out of the map and click on a specific suburb to display the statistics.
The interactive map can show visuals representing statistics for diagnoses and excess deaths. It can also show estimates for male or female in case of sex-specific cancer types.
Each area will be shown with cancer incidence estimates, indicating if the area is above or below the Australian average.
Learn more about the Australian Cancer Atlas.