Melanoma

This section provides statistics relating to melanoma cancer registrations and deaths in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Melanoma is a serious form of skin cancer, and New Zealand has some of the highest rates in the world [1].

Please note that mortality data releases have been delayed because data on external causes of death is not yet complete enough. The most recent mortality data received by EHINZ is for the 2018 year. For more information on the Mortality Data Collection, visit the Te Whatu Ora website.

Surveillance Reports and Metadata

Surveillance Report: Melanoma mortality (Jul 2022) View interactive report Download report PDF
Metadata: Melanoma mortality (Jul 2022) Download report PDF
Surveillance Report: Melanoma registrations (Jan 2024) Download report PDF
Metadata: Melanoma registrations (Jan 2024) Download report PDF

Melanoma and environmental health

Melanoma is a serious form of skin cancer, and, together with Australia, New Zealand has the highest rates in the world [1]. In 2022, there were 3,116 registrations of melanoma in New Zealand. Melanoma was the third most commonly registered cancer in 2020 for males (behind prostate cancer and colorectal cancer) and for females (behind breast and colorectal cancer) [2]. 

Overexposure to UV radiation from the sun is the main environmental risk factor for melanoma. It has been estimated that more than 90% of all melanoma cases in New Zealand can be attributed to UV radiation exposure [3].

There were 3,116 melanoma registrations in 2022

In 2022, there were 3,116 melanoma registrations in New Zealand. The melanoma registration rate has consistently been higher for males than females over the past 20 years.

296 people died from melanoma in 2018

In 2018, 296 people died from melanoma in New Zealand. This is a 22% decline since 2015 (378 deaths). Age-standardised mortality rates also decreased a statistically significant amount between 2015 (3.3 per 100,000) and 2018 (4.9 per 100,000). 

The decrease in melanoma deaths from 2015 to 2018 may be linked to the availability of two new treatments for advanced melanoma - Opdivo and Keytruda. These treatments began receiving public funding by Pharmac in July 2016 and September 2016 respectively.  The decrease in melanoma deaths is likely due to these new treatments, as (i) it is in line with what would be expected from the addition of these PD-L1 treatments, based on clinical studies, and (ii) there are no other major factors that explain this large decrease [4].

For more information and interactive figures relating to this data, view the Surveillance reports at the top of the page.

 

Information about the data

Melanoma cancer registrations and deaths

Source: Te Whatu Ora – New Zealand Cancer Registry (latest data is for 2022), New Zealand Mortality Collection (latest data is for 2018).
Definition: Melanoma is defined as melanoma of the skin registrations (ICD-10 C43) in the New Zealand Cancer Registry. Rates are per 100,000 people, and have been age-standardised to the WHO world standard population.  

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