Indigenous Australians more likely to get cancer

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are getting more new cancers than other Australians.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in Australia and for Indigenous Australians it's particularly deadly.

A new report by Cancer Australia and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has found Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have higher rates of new cancers and cancer deaths than their non-Indigenous counterparts.

It finds Indigenous Australians have a slightly higher rate incidence rate but they're 50 per cent more likely to die from cancer than non-Indigenous Australians.

Chief Executive of Cancer Australia, Professor Helen Zorbas, told Greg Dyett a number of factors are behind the higher mortality rate.

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