New Zealand Cancer Registry (NZCR) and Mortality Collection (MORT)

The New Zealand Cancer Registry (NZCR) is a population-based register of all primary malignant diseases diagnosed in New Zealand, excluding squamous and basal cell skin cancers. The Mortality Collection (MORT) classifies the underlying cause of death for all deaths registered in New Zealand. The rates shown are age-standardised per 100,000 population, standardised to the WHO world standard population and Segi’s population. HPA uses the WHO world population as the standard population, in preference to the somewhat outdated Segi’s population. The WHO world population has an older age structure than Segi’s population and resembles more closely the current and likely future NZ population.

Graph list:
1. Frequency of lung cancer registrations and mortality
2. Population-standardised rates of lung cancer registrations and mortality
3. Population-standardised rates of lung cancer registrations and mortality by Ethnicity

Available filter variables:
Gender and ethnicity

Definitions:
Lung cancer: ICD codes C33 and C34 - malignant neoplasms of trachea, bronchus, and lung - ICD-9 code 162; ICD-10 codes C33-C34.

Ethnicity: Ethnicity data are required to be collected and classified according to Ministry of Health ethnicity data protocols for the health and disability sector (see Ministry of Health 2004). Under the protocols, ethnicity information is collected through self-identification or, when this is not possible, by appropriate proxy using a standard question format. Individuals may select up to three ethnic groups they feel they belong to. The ethnicity data in this publication are based on prioritised ethnicity. Each individual is allocated to a single ethnic group on the basis of the following priority: Māori, Pacific peoples, Asian, other groups except New Zealand European, New Zealand European. Thus, any person who selects Māori as one of their three ethnicities will be recorded as Māori. The ethnicity information recorded on the Cancer Registry is taken from hospital discharge information, the National Health Index and the Mortality Collection. Therefore, the less contact a patient has with the hospital system, the less likely they are to have an accurate ethnicity recorded. Registrations with unspecified ethnicity have been included in the non-Māori group in this report, so caution should be used when interpreting comparisons.

Rate calculations: Age-standardised rates adjust for differences in age distribution of the populations being compared. They are calculated by the direct standardisation method, which multiplies the age-specific rates by a standard population.

Other information:
Please find more information about the NZCR here and technical information here. For more information about MORT, click here.