Cancer control’s new STaR

Cancer Australia, in collaboration with leading national, state and territory health organisations and governments, has begun the ambitious STaR project to access and report national data on cancer Stage at diagnosis, Treatment and Recurrence. The project will greatly enhance our ability as a nation to understand variations in cancer outcomes by stage and treatment across population groups.

While cancer registries based on the Australian population have been collecting and reporting high-quality data on cancer incidence and mortality for at least 30 years, there remains a lack of national data on the stage (severity of a cancer) when a patient is first diagnosed, the treatments subsequently applied and the frequency of cancer recurrence after treatment.

The successful collection and reporting of STaR data, along with information already being collected on cancer incidence and mortality will provide, for the first time, important information across the journey of patients with cancer. With a better understanding of cancer outcomes by stage and treatment across population groups, we can more accurately address variations in practice. This will be especially valuable in variations in outcome across socio-demographic and culturally and linguistically diverse groups. The data may also assist in determining whether differences in survival can be explained by the treatment provided and patterns of care following diagnosis, which could identify areas for practice improvement. The knowledge gained will inform clinical best practice in cancer control, health services planning and public health policy.

The STaR project will initially collect and report on the five cancers of highest incidence in Australia. Where available, data will be analysed by cancer type (site and histology), age and gender, Indigenous status, remoteness, socio-economic status and country of birth.

In undertaking the STaR project, Cancer Australia is engaging with state and territory population-based cancer registries, as well as key cancer control stakeholders, including the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the Australasian Association of Cancer Registries and state and territory government health departments.