06 Aug New Zealand Children’s Cancer Registry Incidence Report 2010-2014
The New Zealand Children’s Cancer Registry (NZCCR) has published an update to its first ever incidence report (2000-2009) which includes new childhood cancer registrations for the five year period between 2010 and 2014.
There were 762 new childhood cancer registrations in the five years between 2010 and 2014, giving an overall
New Zealand child cancer incidence rate of 167 per million per year (age standardised to the World Standard
Population). Overall incidence is not significantly higher than New Zealand’s 2000-2009 incidence rate (IR) of
155 per million per year but there has, however, been a noticeable increase in incidence for boys (from 159 to 183
per million) and for 0-4 year olds (from 202 to 244 per million). These increases can be attributed, in part, to the
recent re-classification of Langerhans cell histiocytosis as a malignancy, which more frequently occurs in males
and in those under the age of five.
Consistent with the 2000-2009 analysis, the most common cancers diagnosed in New Zealand children between
2010 and 2014 were leukaemias (one third of all cancers, 51 cases per year) and central nervous system tumours
(21% of all cancers, 32 cases per year). Acute lymphoblastic leukaemias (ALL) accounted for over one in four of
all new child cancer registrations within the study period. Haematological malignancies (i.e. leukaemias and
lymphomas) accounted for half of all cancers diagnosed in boys but just 37% of girls.
Click here for a copy of the full report