Cancer statistics provide information on the different types of cancer, focusing on the organ and tissue type affected by cancer. The basis is the Austrian National Cancer Registry maintained by Statistics Austria, in which cases diagnosed or treated in hospitals are registered. According to the Cancer Statistics Act 1969 and the Cancer Statistics Ordinance 2019, hospitals are obliged to report every case of cancer and every death from cancer.
Important key figures are the newly diagnosed cancer cases per calendar year (incidence), cancer deaths (mortality), persons living with a cancer diagnosis (prevalence) and the survival probabilities of cancer patients. They are published annually in the run-up to World Cancer Day (February 4) and broken down by demographic and tumour-specific characteristics. They serve as a basis for health policy and as a source of information for research.