For the first time, national data on childhood cancer stage at diagnosis has been released, showing that a high proportion of the most common childhood cancers are diagnosed at a limited stage, before they have spread to other parts of the body.

The new data published by Cancer Australia covers the 16 most common childhood cancers, which represent approximately three-quarters of all childhood cancers diagnosed in Australia.

The release of the data on childhood cancer stage at diagnosis is the result of a collaboration between Cancer Australia and the Australian Childhood Cancer Registry at Cancer Council Queensland, with involvement of all states and territories, and was supported as part of the Australian Government’s investing in Medical Research – Fighting Childhood Cancer initiative.