Over 90,400 New Zealanders estimated to be diagnosed with at least one in situ or invasive keratinocytic cancer in 2018
April 6, 2018
Executive Summary
This project estimated the numbers of diagnoses and the incidence rate of Non-Melanoma Skin (Keratinocytic) Cancer (KC) in New Zealand based on data extracted from a regional collection of pathology records of skin biopsies taken in 2009-2013. Key findings are:
- It is projected that over 90,400 people will be diagnosed with at least one in situ or invasive KC in 2018.
- In Māori it is projected that in 2018 there will be 388 people diagnosed with KC, 651 presentations to a doctor in which a biopsy will be taken for KC and 758 separate KC diagnoses.
- In non-Māori it is projected that in 2018 there will be 90,077 people diagnosed with KC, 177,855 presentations for KC biopsies, and 229,867 diagnoses of KC.
- The number of diagnoses of KC made each year in New Zealand is currently unknown.
- A previous projection for 2006 suggested that there were at least 67,000 new cases of invasive KC diagnosed in New Zealand that year.
- We were provided with a de-identified dataset of skin biopsy information derived from pathology reports from the Bay of Plenty from 2010-2013.
- The datafile listed visits to a doctor in which a skin biopsy was taken, so individual people could have multiple visits for a biopsy, multiple biopsies at the one visit and multiple diagnoses of skin cancer from the doctor visits.
- Undercounting of KC was estimated from the fraction of independently verified (by the New Zealand Cancer Registry) diagnoses of melanoma.
- Burden of disease was measured in three ways: counts of people diagnosed with at least one KC in 2010-2012; for the same people, the number of presentations to a doctor in which a biopsy of KC was taken and the total number of KC lesions diagnosed.
- It was estimated that 22,190 people were diagnosed with in situ squamous cell carcinomas (SCC), 52,073 with invasive basal cell carcinomas (BCC) and 28,800 with invasive SCC in 2013.
- The age-adjusted incidence rate (for people) for invasive KC was 51.0 per 100,000 in Māori and 786.1 per 100,000 in non-Māori.
Source:
Sneyd, M.J., & Gray, A. (2018). Expected non melanoma skin (Keratinocytic) cancer incidence in New Zealand for 2018. Wellington: Health Promotion Agency.