This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

Melanoma mortality rate grew faster in New Zealand than in Australia

Mortality from melanoma increased in New Zealand and Australia from 1968 to 2007, but the rates were greater among New Zealanders, particularly women, in a recent study.

Researcher assessed data from the New Zealand Ministry of Health and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare to determine the annual number of melanoma deaths and the mean annual population estimates. Five-year age-specific mortality rates were determined for the two countries that have the world’s highest incidence and mortality rates of cutaneous melanoma.

Age-standardized mortality rates (ASMR) grew in both countries between 1968 and 2007, with 6,721 New Zealanders and 29,825 Australians dying from melanoma during that period.

New Zealand had a population of 4 million people in 2007, in which 178 men and 114 women died from melanoma; the ASMR for men was 6.4 per 100,000 and for women 3.4 per 100,000. That same year Australia’s population was 21 million, with 864 men and 415 women dying from the disease. The ASMR was 5.8 per 100,000 for men and 2.5 per 100,000 for women.

Mortality rates increased more among New Zealand women after 1968-1972 compared with Australian women, and women had a 40% higher melanoma mortality rate in New Zealand than in Australia by 2003-2007.

For each generation born from about 1893 to 1918 in New Zealand, and each generation born until 1923 in Australia, melanoma mortality increased. In Australia, for people born since 1958, melanoma-related mortality declined. A similar decrease occurred in New Zealand beginning with people born after 1968.

“Mortality trends in New Zealand and Australia are discrepant,” the researchers concluded. “It is too early to know if the pattern in New Zealand is simply delayed response to melanoma control activities compared with Australia, whereby we can expect the same downward trend in similar age groups in the next few years.”

Disclosure: The researchers declared no relevant financial disclosures.