title: How many cancer deaths could New Zealand avoid if five-year relative survival ratios were the same as in Australia?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine how many Māori and non-Māori deaths might have been avoidable if cancer survival in New Zealand were as high as in Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Age-sex-tumour specific five-year relative survival ratios were calculated for cancer patients diagnosed with 27 tumour sites (representing about 92% of all cancers) in 2006-10. These were used to estimate the number of Māori, non-Māori and total deaths (and proportion of excess deaths) that would have been avoidable within five years of diagnosis had New Zealand's relative survival been equivalent to Australia's.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 3,631 cancer deaths (726/year; 13.4% of excess deaths) could have been avoidable. Among 25 tumours where ethnic-specific results were estimated, there were 851 potentially avoidable deaths in Māori (24.9%) and 2,758 in non-Māori (11.8%). Breast, bowel, lung and prostate tumours made up 64% of avoidable deaths. Those with the highest proportions of avoidable deaths were thyroid (44.7%), prostate (35.5%), breast (30.0%) and uterus (23.5%). More than 50% of Māori melanoma, prostate, testis and thyroid cancer deaths were avoidable.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A significant number of cancer deaths could be avoidable if New Zealand achieved Australia's relative survival ratios. The proportion is much higher for Māori than for non-Māori.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is considerable scope to improve cancer outcomes in New Zealand.
authors.affiliation: Planning, Funding and Outcomes Division, Waitemata District Health Board, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sandiford
authors.forename: Manar E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Abdel-Rahman
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Allemani
authors.forename: Michel P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Coleman
authors.forename: Geeta
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gala
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D015993:Life Tables; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000401:mortality*; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D016019:Survival Analysis; D015996:Survival Rate; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Māori; New Zealand; avoidable mortality; cancer; relative survival