Almost 45,000 cancer cases were recorded in the Hunter in a decade, while the region had a higher cancer rate than the state and nation.
The data, to be released in an Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) report on Tuesday, showed rising cancer cases but a lower death rate from the disease.
The report detailed cancer cases in the Hunter from 2012 to 2021.
These included: Newcastle (10,366), Lake Macquarie East (9215), Lake Macquarie West (5799), Maitland (4362), Cessnock, Singleton and Dungog (5514), Port Stephens (6008) and Upper Hunter (1910).
The rate of cancer per 100,000 people was Newcastle (640), Lake Macquarie East (678), Lake Macquarie West (653), Maitland (657), Cessnock, Singleton and Dungog (649), Port Stephens (663) and Upper Hunter (666).
The Australian cancer rate per 100,000 people was 617 and the NSW rate was 612.
AIHW spokesman Justin Harvey said the report enabled researchers to "identify where disparities are greatest and where targeted action can make the biggest difference".
Mark Hughes Foundation co-founder Kirralee Hughes said "there is a direct link between investment in research and better outcomes".
"Breast cancer was once an incurable disease and now the five-year survival rate is 93 per cent," Mrs Hughes said.
She said community groups like the foundation were "doing everything we can, but it will only go so far".
"We desperately need more research funding from the government."
Hughes foundation members attended the state memorial service of Richard Scolyer at the Sydney Opera House on Monday. He was a pioneer cancer researcher who died from brain cancer.
Professor Mike Fay, chair of the Mark Hughes Foundation Centre for Brain Cancer Research, said "Professor Scolyer showed us through his work and life how critical research is to hope".
"With better treatment, patients are surviving longer," Professor Fay said.
"Brain cancer sadly hasn't improved as quickly as other cancers, which is why we need urgent action and increased funding."
The AIHW report estimated there were about 969,000 people diagnosed with cancer over the last decade, who were alive in Australia at the end of 2025. This represented 3.5 per cent of the population.
The equivalent figures in the year 2000 were 410,000 people and 2.1 per cent of the population. Part of this increase was attributed to a larger and ageing population.
The five-year survival for cancer from 1987 to 1991 was 50 per cent. From 2017 to 2021, this rate had increased to 72 per cent.
Even with increasing survival rates, the number of deaths from cancer in Australia has been rising.
In 2000, there were 36,000 deaths from cancer. By 2025, this figure was estimated at 53,500.
Cancer has become the cause of three of every 10 deaths.
"Cancer occurs across all ages but is more common in older ages," the report said.
In 2025, an estimated 88 per cent of cancers occurred in people aged 50 or older. However, cancer rates among younger people are increasing.
For people in their 30s, cancer rates rose from 121 to 135 cases per 100,000 people from the years 2000 to 2025. This was driven by higher rates of colorectal and thyroid cancer.
For people in their 40s, the rate rose from 280 to 313 cases per 100,000 people, mainly due to thyroid, breast, prostate, colorectal and kidney cancer.
