Cancer incidence is simply the number of new cancer cases of a specified site or type that are diagnosed over a specified period of time. Prostate cancer is the leading cause of new cancers among men and breast cancer is the leading cause among women.
According to the Cancer Care Ontario 2020 Ontario Cancer Statistics report, cancer incidence is generally influenced by: socio-demographic factors (e.g., age and gender); early detection and cancer screening (e.g. mammography and Pap); and the presence of certain risk and protective factors. Risk factors can be modifiable (e.g. smoking, poor diet, alcohol consumption and physical inactivity) or non-modifiable (e.g. age at menarche and menopause). Risk factors can also include exposure to known carcinogens (e.g. radon, certain viral infections and air pollution) and genetic predispositions (e.g. BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations).
This HealthSTATS section has incidence data for the following: