Cancer

Table 24: Cancer indicators, by gender, Māori and non-Māori, 2010–12 [1]
Indicator	Māori			Non-Māori
Indicator	Males	Females	Total	Males	Females	Total
Total cancer registrations, 25+ years, rate per 100,000, 2010–12	455.5 (438.1–473.5)	552.5 (534.4–571.1)	506.3 (493.6–519.1)	419.2 (414.6–423.9)	394.7 (390.1–399.3)	405.8 (402.6–409.1)
Total cancer mortality, 25+ years, rate per 100,000, 2010–12	218.4 (206.5–230.7)	214.5 (203.6–225.9)	215.6 (207.6–223.9)	133.0 (130.6–135.3)	110.0 (108.0–112.1)	120.3 (118.8–121.9)

Māori adults aged 25 and over had significantly higher cancer registration rates than non-Māori adults for total cancers in 2010–12 (RR 1.25, CI 1.21–1.28). The total-cancer mortality rate among Māori adults was more than 1.5 times as high as that among non-Māori adults (RR 1.79, CI 1.72–1.87).

Cancer in women

Figure 8 shows that the most common cancers registered for Māori females over this time period were breast cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, uterine cancer and cervical cancer. Figure 9 shows that the leading causes of cancer death for Māori females were lung cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, stomach cancer and uterine cancer.

Māori females had a breast cancer registration rate 1.4 times that of non-Māori females (RR 1.40, CI 1.32–1.50). Māori females were around 1.5 times as likely to die from breast cancer as non-Māori females (RR 1.59, CI 1.37–1.83).

For cervical cancer, Māori females had a registration rate twice that of non-Māori females (RR 2.06, CI 1.64–2.58), and the mortality rate for Māori females was about 2.5 times that of non-Māori females (RR 2.57, CI 1.70–3.90).

Māori females had a lung cancer registration rate over four times that of non-Māori females (RR 4.26, CI 3.89–4.66). This disparity was similar in terms of mortality; Māori female lung cancer mortality was over 4 times that of non-Māori females (RR 4.30, CI 3.88–4.77).

Although Māori females had a significantly lower colorectal cancer registration rate than non-Māori females (RR 0.80, CI 0.70–0.92), there was no significant difference for colorectal cancer mortality rates between Māori females and non-Māori females (RR 0.84, CI 0.67–1.05).

Figure 8: Female cancer registration rates, by site, 25+ years, Māori and non-Māori, 2010–12 [2]

Title: Figure 8: Female cancer registration rates, by site, 25+ years, Māori and non-Māori,

Figure 9: Female cancer mortality rates, by site, 25+ years, Māori and non-Māori, 2010–12 [3]

Title: Figure 9: Female cancer mortality rates, by site, 25+ years, Māori and non-Māori, 2010–12

Cancer in men

The most common cancer registration sites for Māori males were prostate cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, liver cancer and stomach cancer (Figure 10). The leading causes of cancer mortality for Māori males were lung cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, liver cancer and stomach cancer (Figure 11).

Māori male lung cancer registration and mortality rates were nearly 3 times those of non-Māori males (RR 2.84, CI 2.58–3.13 for registration; RR 2.78, CI 2.50–3.10 for mortality).

Colorectal cancer registration rates were significantly lower for Māori males than for non-Māori males (RR 0.80, CI 0.70–0.91). However, there was no significant difference in rates of colorectal cancer mortality between Māori and non-Māori males (RR 1.06, CI 0.87–1.28).

For Māori males, liver cancer registration and mortality rates were almost 3.5 times those of non-Māori males (RR 3.43, CI 2.83–4.17 for registration; RR 3.43, CI 2.71–4.33 for mortality).

Prostate cancer registration was significantly lower for Māori males than for non-Māori males (RR 0.80, CI 0.73– 0.88). However, Māori males had a prostate cancer mortality rate over 1.5 times that of non-Māori males (RR 1.51, CI 1.25–1.83).

The rate of stomach cancer registration was almost three times as high for Māori males than that for non-Māori males (RR 2.84, CI 2.32–3.49). The rate of stomach cancer mortality for Māori males was more than 2.5 times that for non-Māori males (RR 2.53, CI 1.97–3.26).

For many cancers, the cancer registration rates for Māori were less than or similar to the cancer registration rates for non-Māori; however, the mortality rates were higher for Māori than for non-Māori. This suggests that Māori with cancer have a higher risk of dying from their cancer than non-Māori.

Figure 10: Male cancer registration rates, by site, 25+ years, Māori and non-Māori, 2010–12 [2]

Title: Figure 10: Male cancer registration rates, by site, 25+ years, Māori and non-Māori,

Figure 11: Male cancer mortality rates, by site, 25+ years, Māori and non-Māori, 2010–12 [3]

Title: Figure 11: Male cancer mortality rates, by site, 25+ years, Māori and non-Māori, 2010–12

Screening programmes

Table 25: Female cancer screening indicators, Māori and non-Māori [4]
Indicator	Māori	Non-Māori
BreastScreen Aotearoa coverage for 24 months to 31 March 2015, females aged 45–69 years, percent	64.4	73.8
BreastScreen Aotearoa coverage for 24 months to 31 March 2015, females aged 50–69 years, percent	64.6	73.4
National Cervical Screening Programme three-year coverage to 31 March 2015, females aged 25–69 years, percent	62.6	78.4
National Cervical Screening Programme three-year coverage to 31 March 2015, females aged 20–69 years, percent	60.2	75.6

There are screening programmes for both breast and cervical cancer in New Zealand. Table 25 shows that for both these programmes, coverage rates were lower for Māori than for non-Māori.

The BreastScreen Aotearoa (BSA) programme is a free national breast X-ray (mammography) service offered 2-yearly to women aged between 45 and 69 years. The most recent 2-year screening coverage rate represents a full screening round with 2-yearly 2-view mammographic screening. More information about the BSA programme can be found at the National Screening Unit website.

The National Cervical Screening Programme (NCSP) coverage percentage represents the proportion of women aged 20–69 years who enrolled on the NCSP register had had a cervical smear in the 36 months prior to the reporting period. A 36-month interval was used because this is the recommended cervical screening interval. More information about the NCSP programme can be found at the National Screening Unit website.

1. Notes:

Figures are age-standardised to the total Māori population as recorded in the 2001 Census.
Prioritised ethnicity has been used – see Ngā tapuae me ngā raraunga: Methods and data sources for further information.

Sources: Mortality Collection Data Set (MORT), Ministry of Health; New Zealand Cancer Registry (NZCR), Ministry of Health

2. Notes:

Figures are age-standardised to the total Māori population as recorded in the 2001 Census.
Prioritised ethnicity has been used – see Ngā tapuae me ngā raraunga: Methods and data sources for further information.

Source: New Zealand Cancer Registry (NZCR), Ministry of Health

3. Notes:

Figures are age-standardised to the total Māori population as recorded in the 2001 Census.
Prioritised ethnicity has been used – see Ngā tapuae me ngā raraunga: Methods and data sources for further information.

Source: Mortality Collection Data Set (MORT), Ministry of Health

4. Note: Crude rates and prioritised ethnicity have been used – see Ngā tapuae me ngā raraunga: Methods and data sources for further information.

Source: National Screening Unit, Ministry of Health