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Annual statistical publication that collates and analyses data on primary malignant tumour cases diagnosed in New Zealand, as reported to the New Zealand Cancer Register.

The NZ Cancer Registry has operated since 1948 and is a population-based tumour register of all primary malignant disease. (Basal and squamous cancers arising in the skin are not required to be reported, except for those of the genitalia.)

The major sources of new registrations are copies of laboratory reports, post-discharge reports from publicly funded hospitals, death certificates and autopsy reports, and discharge reports from private hospitals.

The data collected includes information on the site, stage and pathology of the cancer, as well as demographic information (eg, ethnicity, age, sex, domicile). The data is collected under the Cancer Registry Act 1993 and the Cancer Registry Regulations 1994.

The publication highlights the following facts:

Registrations

• In 2002 there were 17,943 new cancer registrations, of which 52.4 percent (9399) were male and 47.6 percent (8544) were female.
• The total number of registrations in 2002 was similar to the 17,913 registrations reported in 2001.
• The number of new registrations for males was 1.7 percent lower than 2001, while female registrations increased by 2.3 percent.
• The age-standardised rate of cancer registrations for the total population was 313.1 in 2002.
• The age-standardised rate of cancer registration for males (348.2 per 100,000 male population) exceeded the female age-standardised rate (287.0 per 100,000 female population).
• There were 1207 new cancer registrations for Māori in 2002 (587 male and 620 female registrations).
• Māori cancer registrations increased by 6.3 percent from 1135 in 2001 to 1207 in 2002.

• There were 7800 cancer deaths in 2002 (4125 males and 3675 females), a slight reduction from the 7810 cancer deaths in 2001.
• The age-standardised cancer mortality rate for males (142.8 per 100,000 male population) exceeded the age-standardised female rate (104.9 per 100,000 female population).
• The overall New Zealand mortality rate for cancer was 120.9 per 100,000 population, a reduction from the 2001 mortality rate of 125.9 deaths per 100,000 population.

• The most common sites of cancer registration for males were cancer of the prostate (2656 registrations), cancer of the colorectum and anus (1326 registrations), melanoma of the skin (933 registrations), and cancer of the trachea, bronchus and lung (931 registrations). With the exception of melanoma of the skin, these sites were similar to those registered in 2001.
• The most common causes of male cancer deaths were cancer of the trachea, bronchus and lung (866 deaths), cancer of the prostate (591 deaths), and cancer of the colorectum and anus (590 deaths). These were similarly the most common causes of deaths due to cancer in 2001.
• The most common sites of cancer registration for females were cancer of the breast (2364 registrations), cancer of the colorectum and anus (1262 registrations), and melanoma of the skin (909 registrations). These sites were similarly the most commonly registered cancer sites in 2001.
• The most common causes of female cancer deaths were cancer of the breast (625 deaths), cancer of the trachea, bronchus and lung (605 deaths), and cancer of the colorectum and anus (545 deaths). These were similarly the most common causes of deaths due to cancer in 2001.

Further details can be found in the Health Statistics section of this site.

The statistical tables accompanying in this publication can be downloaded as an Excel file (1.1 MB)., and the publication can be downloaded as a PDF file (2.2 MB).

Note that this issue of Cancer: New Registrations and Deaths does not contain a full set of tables. For tables of, eg, detailed sites, the Excel file must be obtained.

To order a printed copy of this publication, e-mail nzhis-pub@nzhis.govt.nz or contact the Publications Officer, NZHIS, PO Box 5013, Wellington, phone (04) 496 2000, fax (04) 496 2340.

Published 2006
74 pages, A4
A limited number of hardcopy publications are available free of charge
ISSN 1171-6509

The 2001 (PDF, 604 kB), 2000 (PDF, 492 kB), 1999 (PDF, 592 kB), 1998 (PDF, 424 kB), 1997 (PDF, 764K), 1996 (PDF, 732 kB) and 1995 (PDF, 668 kB) issues of this publication are also available. They each contain a full set of tables.


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