Highlights
- In 2013, the most commonly diagnosed cancers in Ontarians age 75 and older were lung and colorectal.
- Female breast and prostate cancers were more common in people ages 50 to 74 than in people age 75 and older.
- While cancer rates were similar between men and women ages 50 to 74, the rate in people age 75 and older was higher for men than women.
The types of cancers that are most commonly diagnosed in people age 75 and older are different than the most commonly diagnosed cancers in people ages 50 to 74. In 2013, Ontarians age 75 and older were most commonly diagnosed with lung and colorectal cancer, while people ages 50 to 74 were most commonly diagnosed with female breast and lung cancer.
Lung cancer accounted for 16% of all new cancer cases in people age 75 and older, but only accounted for 13% of cancer cases in people ages 50 to 74. Colorectal cancer was also more common in people age 75 and older accounting for 15% of all cancers, compared to 11% of cases in people ages 50 to 74. In addition, cancers of the bladder, pancreas and stomach, as well as non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia, were more common in the older age group than in the younger age group.
This younger age group, however, had higher percentages of female breast cancer and prostate cancer than people age 75 and older. Female breast cancer made up 14% of all cancer cases in people ages 50 to 74, but only 9% of cases in people age 75 and older. Prostate cancer made up 13% of cancer cases in people ages 50 to 74 and only 9% of cancer cases in people age 75 and older.
Although melanoma was commonly diagnosed in people age 75 and older, it accounted for a similar percentage of cases in both age groups.
Overall cancer rates tend to rise as age increases. In 2013, the cancer rate in Ontarians age 75 and older was more than twice that of people ages 50 to 74 (2,549 per 100,000 versus 1,113 per 100,000). Because cancer is so much more common in people age 75 and older, incidence rates in the older age group were higher for almost all major types of cancer. The exceptions were cervical, thyroid and testicular cancers, which had higher incidence rates in the younger age group.
Age also affected differences between the sexes. While cancer incidence in people ages 50 to 74 was similar for men and women, men age 75 and older had a rate more than 1.5 times that of women the same age (3,240 per 100,000 for men vs. 2,068 per 100,000 for women).
Age is one of the most important risk factors for cancer. The risk of developing most types of cancer increases as people get older. However, the higher proportion of some types of cancer in people age 75 and older may be the result of other factors. For example, the higher proportion of lung cancer cases in this older age group could be because people age 75 and older were more likely to have smoked in their younger years. On the other hand, the lower proportion of breast cancer in this older age group may be because breast cancer screening programs have increased the number of breast cancer cases found in people ages 50 to 74, leaving fewer cases to be found in people age 75 and older. As the population ages, it is possible that these patterns will change. For example, lung cancer may become less common in the future as younger people, who are less likely to have smoked, reach the age of 75.