Generally, the overall incidence and mortality rates associated with head and neck cancers are declining.
In 2004, there were 2517 new cases of head and neck cancers. Head and neck cancers were the eighth most common cancer in Australia (2.6% of all new cancer cases).
Males were far more likely to have a head or neck cancer, with 1830 new cases reported, accounting for 3.3% all male cancers, compared to 687 cases in females, 1.6% of female cancers.
In 2004, the most common forms of head and neck cancers were:
Larynx (592 cases; 526 male, 66 female)
Tongue (506 cases; 332 male, 174 female)
Mouth (435 cases; 254 male, 181 female).
In 2005, head and neck cancers were responsible for 888 deaths in Australia, accounting for 2.3% of all cancer deaths. There were more deaths in males (677 or 3.1% of all male cancer deaths) than females (211 or 1.2% of all female cancer deaths).