This publication is an update to the Cancer patient survival covering the period 1994 to 2007 publication released by the Ministry of Health in 2010. It is not a stand alone document.
This document updates only the ‘change over time’ information detailed in the main publication, by showing updated information for five-year survival of patients alive and diagnosed with cancer during the five periods covered (1998–1999, 2000–2001, 2002–2003, 2004–2005 and 2006–2007). New information showing survival for the 2008–2009 period has also been included.
Not all the cancer sites detailed in the main publication have been covered in this update. This document shows updated information for the following sites:
- all adult cancers
- colorectum and anus
- trachea, bronchus and lung
- melanoma of the skin
- female breast cancer
- prostate
- Hodgkin lymphoma
- non-Hodgkin lymphoma
- myeloma
- leukaemia – all forms
- childhood cancers.
Key Results
For all adults with cancer, there was a statistically significant improvement in survival between 1998–1999 and 2008–2009. Survival increased from a ratio of 0.577 to 0.633 after five years of follow-up. A survival ratio of 0.633 means the rate of survival among people diagnosed with cancer was 63 percent when compared with a group from the general population of the same sex and comparable age.
Although both Māori and non-Māori showed an increase in survival over time, only the non-Māori change was statistically significant.
For non-Māori, 6 of the 11 groupings detailed in this document showed a significant improvement in survival over time.
For Māori, the only site to show a significant improvement in survival was cancer of the breast in females.
Māori survival was significantly lower than that experienced by non-Māori for 6 of the 11 groupings in this update.