Cancer and other non-communicable disease clusters

Concern about a potential clustering of disease may arise when a number of people are diagnosed with a non-communicable disease such as cancer, in a particular place, in a period of time. The concern of the community is that the cases may be linked to a common cause. These concerns often arise within the workplace or local neighbourhood.

Queensland Health takes the community concerns of non-communicable disease cluster seriously and addresses such concerns according to the Queensland Health Non-communicable Disease Cluster Assessment Guidelines 2019 (PDF 723 kB)

Most queries relate to cancer cluster inquiries so the guidelines emphasise those aspects of cluster assessment, however they do apply equally to all non-communicable disease clusters.

Read more about cancer clusters (PDF 130 kB)

Contact

Contact your local public health unit if you suspect a cancer or other non-communicable disease cluster.

Cancer information

Find information about symptoms, treatment, prevention and statistics about various different types of cancer:

Last updated: 10 March 2020