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Cancer

Table 17: Cancer indicators

Indicator
Māori
non-Māori
Males
Females
Total
Males
Females
Total
All cancer registrations, 25+ years, 2004-06, rate per 100,000 1,2
493.2
(469.5-517.7)
537.0
(513.9-560.9)
512.5
(496.0-529.3)
457.2
(451.7-462.7)
412.4
(407.0-417.8)
430.4
(426.6-434.3)
All cancer mortality, 25+ years, 2004-06, rate per 100,000 1,2
333.8
(314.3-354.2)
292.6
(275.7-310.3)
309.5
(296.7-322.7)
165.3
(162.2-168.4)
125.4
(122.9-128.0)
142.7
(140.8-144.6)

Sources: Ministry of Health

Notes:
  1. Age standardised to 2001 Census total Māori population.
  2. Prioritised Māori ethnic group – see Ngā Tapuae me ngā Raraunga: Methods and Data Sources for further information.
Māori adults had significantly higher cancer registration rates than non-Māori adults for all cancers (RR 1.27, CI 1.22–1.33). Moreover, Māori adult all-cancer mortality rates were almost twice those of non-Māori (RR 1.91, CI 1.82–1.99).

The most common cancers registered for Māori females were breast, lung, colorectal, uterine and stomach6 (Figure 10a). The leading causes of cancer death for Māori females were lung, breast, colorectal, stomach and cervical (Figure 10b).

Figure10a: Female cancer registration rates (2004-2006), by site, 25+ years


Figure10a: Female cancer registration rates (2004-2006), by site, 25+ years .
Source: Ministry of Health

Notes:
  1. Age standardised to 2001 Census total Māori population.
  2. Prioritised Mā ori ethnic group – see ‘Ngā Tapuae me ngā Raraunga: Methods and Data Sources’ for further information.
Figure 10a shows that Māori females had a breast cancer registration rate 1.3 times that of non-Māori females (RR 1.34, CI 1.22–1.48), but the breast cancer mortality rate (Figure 10b) was almost twice that of non-Māori females (RR 1.82, CI 1.57–2.10). For cervical cancer, Māori females had a registration rate twice that of non-Māori females (RR 2.02, CI 1.51–2.71), however, the mortality rate (Figure 10b) for Māori females was disproportionately higher at three-and-a-half times that of non-Māori females (RR 3.64, CI 2.49–5.32).7

Māori females had a lung cancer registration rate four times that of non-Māori females (RR 4.20, CI 3.66–4.81). The relative disparity between Māori and non-Māori females was similar for lung cancer mortality, with Māori female lung cancer mortality over four times that of non-Māori females (RR 4.29, CI 3.82–4.83).

Although Māori females had a significantly lower colorectal cancer registration rate than non-Māori females (RR 0.76, CI 0.62–0.94), colorectal cancer mortality rates were similar between the two groups (RR 0.94, CI .75–1.18).

Note:
  1. Note cervical cancer was the sixth most common cancer registered for Māori females.
  2. There are screening programmes for both breast and cervical cancer in New Zealand. For both these programmes, Robson and Harris (2007) cite research that indicates that coverage rates are lower for Māorit han for non-Māori( refer to Page and Taylor 2007 and NCSP IMG 2007).

Figure 11a: Male cancer registration rates (2004–2006), by site, 25+ years

Figure 11a: Male cancer registration rates (2004–2006), by site, 25+ years.
Source: Ministry of Health
Notes:
  1. Age standardised to 2001 Census total Māori population.
  2. Prioritised Māori ethnic group – see ‘Ngā Tapuae me ngā Raraunga: Methods and Data Sources’ for further information.

Figure 11b: Male cancer mortality rates(2004–2006), by site, 25+ years

Figure 11b: Male cancer mortality rates(2004–2006), by site, 25+ years.
Source: Ministry of Health

Notes:
  1. Age standardised to 2001 Census total Māori population.
  2. Prioritised Māori ethnic group – see ‘Ngā Tapuae me ngā Raraunga: Methods and Data Sources’ for further information.
The most common cancer registration sites and causes of cancer death for adult Māori males (in descending order of prevalence) were lung, prostate, colorectal, stomach and liver (Figures 11a and 11b).

Māori male lung cancer registration and mortality rates were almost three times those of non-Māori males (RR 2.92, CI 2.55–3.36 for registration; RR 2.76, CI 2.46–3.10 for mortality).

Both the registration rates and the mortality rates for colorectal cancer were similar for Māori and non-Māori males (RR 0.84, CI 0.69–1.01 for registration; RR 0.97, CI 0.78–1.21 for mortality).

For Māori males, the liver cancer registration rate was three times that of non-Māori males (RR 3.00, CI 2.21–4.07), and the liver cancer mortality rate was over three-and-a-half times that of non-Māori males (RR 3.66, CI 2.78–4.83).

Prostate cancer registration was significantly lower for Māori males than for non-Māori males (RR 0.83, CI 0.72–0.95). However, Māori males had a prostate cancer mortality rate almost twice that of non-Māori males (RR 1.83, CI 1.50–2.22).

The rate of stomach cancer registration was almost three times higher for Māori males than that for non-Māori males (RR 2.79, CI 2.10–3.71). Likewise, the rate of stomach cancer mortality in Māori
males was over three times higher than that in non-Māori males (RR 3.27, CI 2.55–4.20).

For many cancers, the case-mortality rate for Māori is higher than for non-Māori. This suggests that Māori with cancer have a higher risk of dying from their cancer than non-Māori (for further
information, see Robson and Harris 2007; Jeffreys et al 2005).



Page last updated: 21 July 2010


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