This report is the third national report to present key data specific to cancer in adolescents and young adults (aged 15–24 years) in Australia. While cancer in young Australians is rare, it has a substantial social and economic impact on individuals, families and communities. Surveillance of this population is also important as adolescent and young adult cancer survivors are at an increased risk of developing a second cancer.

The first national report was released in 2011, and examined cancer incidence, mortality, and survival in young Australians between 1983 and 2010 (AIHW 2011).

The second national report was released in 2018 and examined incidence, survival, mortality, disease burden, treatment, and the additional risk of developing another cancer sometime after a first cancer diagnosis (AIHW 2018).

This third report presents updated national incidence and survival data for young Australians with cancer for 2014–2018, with trends dating back to 1984–1988. National mortality data are presented for 2013–2017 (based on SEER recode), and for 2016–2020 (based on ICD-10 coding, with trends back to 1981–1985). This report also presents data on cancer-related hospitalisations, cancer-related non-admitted patient activity and some Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) services in 2020–21, as well as trends in cancer-related hospitalisations for 2001–02 to 2020–21, and the burden of cancer in 2022.