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Research and statistics

Facts at a glance

  • More than 300 New Zealanders die from skin cancer every year.
  • Skin cancer is the most common cancer affecting New Zealanders, with an estimated 60,000 new cases every year.
  • Of the three most common types of skin cancer, melanoma is the most serious.
  • Over 2,000 New Zealanders are diagnosed with melanoma every year.
  • New Zealand has one of the highest melanoma death rates in the world.
  • In 2005, there were 269 reported deaths from melanoma and 102 deaths from non-melanoma skin cancers (the most recent data available).
  • Skin cancer costs the New Zealand health system about $57 million a year, making skin cancer one of the most expensive cancers for our health system.
  • It has been estimated that, for every death from skin cancer, an average of 17.4 potential years of life are lost.
  • The vast majority of skin cancers are preventable – it has been estimated that over 90% of melanomas in Australasia are attributable to sun exposure.
  • Excess exposure to UV radiation before the age of 20 years is a particularly strong risk factor for melanoma incidence.
  • Māori and Pacific people have a much lower chance of getting melanoma (compared to people with fair skin types), but when diagnosed often have thicker (more serious) melanomas.

Research

Research is crucial to understanding and preventing skin cancer. The policies and strategies used in skin cancer control need to be evidence based. This means they are more likely to reduce the proportion of New Zealanders who develop and die from skin cancer. Read more.

New Zealand data

Costs of skin cancer to New Zealand 2009 report  (Cancer Society of New Zealand website)

Skin cancer mortality rates - comparions by age, gender and year  (Excel, 30KB)  (supplied by the New Zealand Health Information Service)

Melanoma mortality rates - comparions by age, gender and year  (Excel, 624KB)  (supplied by the New Zealand Health Information Service)

New Zealand regional cancer rates - records of cancer rates by region, age, gender and year  (Excel, 224KB)  (supplied by the New Zealand Health Information Service)

New Zealand Health Information Service website has more data, statistics and information on cancer.

International comparisons

The following sites have information about melanoma and other skin cancers around the world.

International Agency for Research on Cancer website (World Health Organisation)

World Health Organisation profiles the impact of cancer in different countries, including New Zealand.