Cancer Australia, an Australian government agency, estimated new cancer cases diagnosed in 2016 at 130,466, and estimated the number of deaths from cancer in 2016 at 46,880.

After cardiovascular disease, cancer is the second cause of death in Australia, and is responsible for 29% of Australian mortalities.

Statistics show that approximately one in two men and one in three women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime.

As shown in the table below, the most common type of cancer in Australia is prostate cancer, with colorectal cancer, breast cancer, melanoma of the skin and lung cancer following closely behind.

Place	Cancer Indications	Percentage
1	Prostate cancer	13.8%
2	Colorectal cancer	13.4%
3	Breast cancer	12.4%
4	Melanoma of the skin	10.2%
5	Lung cancer	9.3%
6	Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma	4.0%
7	Kidney cancer	2.5%
8	Pancreatic cancer	2.4%
9	Bladder cancer	2.2%
10	Unknown primary	2.1%

Note: The data in the figure above was sourced from Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2014. Cancer in Australia: an overview 2014. Cancer series No. 90. Cat. no. CAN 88. Canberra: AIHW. (from: Cancer Australia, Cancer Research in Australia: an overview of funding initiatives to support cancer research capacity in Australia 2006 to 2011 (2015), p. 17)

Because of the increasing mortality rate due to the high incidence of various cancers, Australia is eager to undertake clinical trials to combat this unmet medical need.

Japanese SMO advances research in Australia

A Japanese Site Management Organization listed in the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange has recently begun conducting cancer clinical trials in Australia.

Having identified highly favorable research conditions in the country, the SMO has found the following factors will help expedite the advancement of research.

1. Australian clinical trials are accepted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
2. The diverse Australian population enables testing across a wide variety of races.
3. Clinical trials in Australia are more affordable in comparison to the United States and Japan.
4. Australia has a highly efficient regulatory and ethics approval process that allows for clinical research to initiate quickly.

Leading organizations in cancer clinical trials have identified these key advantages and are now entering the country and finding that research results are of the highest standards.