A comparison of cancer statistics in New Zealand and Australia: 1996–2007
John Waldon, David S Lamb, Brett Delahunt, John N Nacey, Peter J Dady, Carol A Johnson, Alan G Hall, Peter B Bethwaite, Philip Weinstein
For the years 1996-1997 and 2006-2007, the incidence and mortality of cancer in New Zealand and Australia was compared to determine if differences between the two countries had changed over the decade under study. For the 11 year timeframe of this study, total rates of cancer incidence reduced in New Zealand and increased in Australia. Over the same 11-year timeframe, cancer-specific mortality rates decreased in both countries, but there was no change in the difference between New Zealand and Australian rates, which remained 10% higher in New Zealand. We conclude that the persisting different cancer mortality rates between the two countries is likely to have been partly due to lifestyle and ethnic differences in the populations, and partly due to New Zealanders presenting with more advanced cancers and having less easy access to some treatments.