Half of Australian men will suffer from cancer at some stage during their lifetimes, according to new data from the World Health Organisation's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

Released last week, the Globocan 2018 database, which estimates the number of incidents of cancer around the world, showed that the Australian and New Zealand region had the highest risk.

The Australia and New Zealand region has the highest risk of cancer in the world, new global estimates show. Credit:Andrew Quilty

In 2018, Australia will have an estimated 197,876 new cases of cancer, with 120,034 of these in men.

The estimates show Australian men have a 49.58 per cent chance of developing cancer before the age of 75, while women are less likely to contract it, with a 33.36 per cent chance.