Cancer Statistics
Cancer is the second leading cause of death (29%) and a major cause of hospitalisation (7%) in New Zealand. There are about 18,500 new registrations of cancer each year and over a lifetime one in three New Zealanders will have some experience of cancer, either personally or through a relative or friend.
CCN Health Needs Assessment Report, January 2009
This report provides information on a range of cancer control data at a district and regional level to assist planners and providers of services to identify priority areas, thereby informing their annual and strategic planning. The following areas have been interpreted as important within the context of the CCN strategic planning process:
Inequalities
- Ethnic inequalities exist within the CCN Region for cancer screening, cancer incidence, and cancer outcomes.
- Inequalities exist between CCN DHBs for cancer screening, cancer incidence, cancer outcomes and cancer treatment.
Leading Cancers – Incidence
Table 1 : Leading Female Cancers by Ethnicity for the CCN Region, 2001-2005 Combined
All Ethnicities |
No. |
% |
Other |
No. |
% |
Māori |
No. |
% |
Pacific Peoples |
No. |
% |
|
Breast |
3,224 |
29 |
Breast |
2,811 |
28 |
Breast |
351 |
34 |
Breast |
62 |
30 |
|
Colorectal |
1,729 |
15 |
Colorectal |
1,642 |
16 |
Lung |
162 |
16 |
Uterus |
24 |
12 |
|
Melanoma |
1,247 |
11 |
Melanoma |
1,226 |
12 |
Colorectal |
68 |
7 |
Colorectal |
19 |
9 |
|
Lung |
888 |
8 |
Lung |
716 |
7 |
Uterus |
67 |
7 |
Ovary |
11 |
5 |
|
Uterus |
447 |
4 |
Uterus |
356 |
4 |
Cervix |
39 |
4 |
Lung |
10 |
5 |
Source: NZ Cancer Registry. ICD10 codes used for specific cancer types are as follows: breast C50, colorectal C18 to C21, lung C33 to C34, melanoma C43, uterus C54 to C55, cervix C53, ovary C56.
Table 2 : Leading Male Cancers by Ethnicity for the CCN Region, 2001-2005 Combined
All Ethnicities |
No. |
% |
Other |
No. |
% |
Māori |
No. |
% |
Pacific Peoples |
No. |
% |
|
Prostate |
3,351 |
28 |
Prostate |
3,153 |
29 |
Lung |
179 |
22 |
Prostate |
37 |
23 |
|
Colorectal |
1,763 |
15 |
Colorectal |
1,685 |
15 |
Prostate |
161 |
20 |
Lung |
23 |
14 |
|
Melanoma |
1,264 |
11 |
Melanoma |
1,252 |
11 |
Colorectal |
66 |
8 |
Colorectal |
12 |
7 |
|
Lung |
1,255 |
11 |
Lung |
1,053 |
10 |
Stomach |
46 |
6 |
Liver |
11 |
7 |
|
Bladder |
483 |
4 |
Bladder |
468 |
4 |
Testis |
37 |
5 |
Stomach |
8 |
5 |
Source: NZ Cancer Registry. ICD10 codes used for specific cancer types are as follows: prostate C61, colorectal C18 to C21, lung C33 to C34, melanoma C43, bladder C67, stomach C16, liver C22, testi
Leading Cancers - Mortality
Table 3 : Leading Mortality Female Cancers by Ethnicity for the CCN Region, 2001-2005 Combined
All Ethnicities |
No. |
% |
Other |
No. |
% |
Māori |
No. |
% |
Pacific Peoples |
No. |
% |
|
Breast |
907 |
18 |
Breast |
768 |
18 |
Lung |
171 |
31 |
Breast |
20 |
22 |
|
Lung |
789 |
16 |
Colorectal |
719 |
16 |
Breast |
119 |
22 |
Colorectal |
11 |
12 |
|
Colorectal |
767 |
15 |
Lung |
609 |
14 |
Colorectal |
37 |
7 |
Lung |
9 |
10 |
|
Unspecified |
296 |
6 |
Unspecified |
265 |
6 |
Ovary |
23 |
4 |
Stomach |
6 |
7 |
|
Ovary |
232 |
5 |
Ovary |
204 |
5 |
Pancreas |
22 |
4 |
Ovary |
5 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
Pancreas |
198 |
5 |
Stomach |
22 |
4 |
Unspecified |
5 |
6 |
Source: NZ Cancer Registry. ICD10 codes used for specific cancer types are as follows: breast C50, colorectal C18 to C21, lung C33 to C34, ovary C56, stomach C16, pancreas C25, unspecified site C80.
Table 4 : Leading Mortality Male Cancers by Ethnicity for the CCN Region, 2001-2005 Combined
All Ethnicities |
No. |
% |
Other |
No. |
% |
Māori |
No. |
% |
Pacific Peoples |
No. |
% |
|
Lung |
1,110 |
21 |
Lung |
919 |
20 |
Lung |
172 |
33 |
Lung |
19 |
22 |
|
Prostate |
788 |
15 |
Prostate |
739 |
16 |
Stomach |
44 |
9 |
Liver |
11 |
13 |
|
Colorectal |
722 |
14 |
Colorectal |
677 |
15 |
Colorectal |
43 |
8 |
Stomach |
7 |
8 |
|
Unspecified |
266 |
5 |
Unspecified |
230 |
5 |
Prostate |
43 |
8 |
Prostate |
6 |
7 |
|
Stomach |
235 |
4 |
Stomach |
184 |
4 |
Unspecified |
30 |
6 |
Unspecified |
6 |
7 |
|
Pancreas |
197 |
4 |
Melanoma |
181 |
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Melanoma |
191 |
4 |
Pancreas |
173 |
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Source: NZ Cancer Registry. ICD10 codes used for specific cancer types are as follows: prostate C61, colorectal C18 to C21, lung C33 to C34, melanoma C43, stomach C16, liver C22, pancreas C25, unspecified site C80.
Prevention
- Smoking rates are falling for all groups however the prevalence of daily smoking rates remains significant at 18% nationally. This figure ranges from 15% to 24% within the CCN region
- Sun protection behaviours have increased significantly
- Obesity rates in adults and children are 27% and 8% respectively
- Risk factors, particularly smoking and obesity are more prevalent amongst Māori and those of high social deprivation
Screening
- Within the CCN Region the majority of DHBs do not meet the coverage targets for breast and cervical screens
- Inequalities exist within both screening programmes with lower coverage rates for Māori and Pacific women
Cancer Treatment
- Avoidable hospitalisations for a number of cancers trended down in the region, however variations are seen across the region with Tairawhiti and Whanganui significantly higher than the NZ rate and Capital and Coast significantly lower than the NZ rate
- For the years 2004/05, 2005/06, and 2006/07, the CCN Region had lower rates of chemotherapy but higher rates of radiotherapy than the other regions
- Waiting times for radiotherapy in the CCN Region are longer than the Health Target criteria
Supportive care
- No consistently captured data was available to inform the HNA report
Palliative Care
- A comparison between the number of referrals currently being received by palliative care services/hospices in the CCN Region and the estimated number of people who would benefit from palliative care services (based on extrapolation of UK analysis) suggests that there is an unmet need within the region. This unmet need is largely driven by non cancer patients
- It is anticipated that the new service specification being developed will address some of the issues around collection and standardisation of palliative care data
Future Projections
- Nationally new cancer registrations are predicted to increase by 29% (or 2.6% per annum) between 2003-2013, driven by the aging population
- The number of cancer deaths is forecast to increase by 12% (or 1.1% per annum) between 2004-2014, reflecting earlier and more effective medical and surgical treatment of cancer
- Population growth projections for the CCN Region are a third of that predicted nationally so increases in the number of cancer registrations and cancer deaths for the region may not be as high as for New Zealand
Associated Documents
- CCN Health Needs Assessment 2009
- CCN 6 Monthly Indicators Report - Feb 2010
- CCN 6 Monthly Indicators Report - August 2010
- CCN 6 Monthly Indicators Report - Feb 2011
Last updated 13th September 2011
