A leading innovator in oncology

Cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Australia.

Approximately 1 in 3 males and 1 in 4 females will be affected by cancer before the age of 75. There were 82,185 new cancer cases and 34,695 deaths due to cancer in Australia in 1999. Cancer currently accounts for 29% of male deaths and 25% of female deaths.

Positive news is that cancer survival rates are much higher than a decade ago. Overall cancer mortality rates have been declining at an average of 1.7% for men and 1.3% for women since 1993.

AstraZeneca is committed to the development of products that will enable patients with cancer to live longer and better lives. Since AstraZeneca released its first anti-cancer drug, tamoxifen, more than 25 years ago, investment in research has led to the discovery of new cytotoxic and hormonal agents and other innovative therapeutic strategies for the treatment of breast, prostate, colorectal, and lung cancer.

Key products

• Iressa (gefitinib)
• Arimidex (anastrozole)
• Zoladex (goserelin acetate)
• Nolvadex (tamoxifen citrate)
• Cosudex (bicalutamide)

AstraZeneca also has an active research programme in this area.