NZ melanoma rate falls as Aussie rises

New Zealand has lost its notorious title as the country with the world’s worst rates of deadly melanoma skin cancer to Australia, according to a new study.

But, the Cancer Society says the gap between the New Zealand and Australian rates of the disease is small and its prevalence in both countries has remained ‘‘way worse than the rest of the world’’.

New Zealand overtook Australia as the nation with the highest rates of melanoma in 2011.

However, researchers at Australia’s QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute found that since then, cases of the disease have started to decline in New Zealand, while melanoma rates across the ditch have plateaued.

The study, published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, showed that according to the most recent data from 2014/2015, 50 in every 100,000 Australians were diagnosed with invasive melanoma, compared to about 47 out of every 100,000 New Zealanders.

‘‘The main difference between the two countries is that in New Zealand rates have stabilised in people aged 60 to 79 years, whereas in Australia rates are still rising in this age group. Rates continue to rise for those aged 80 and over in both countries,’’ QIMR Berghofer scientist Professor David Whiteman said.

Whiteman said the fall in cases of melanoma in New Zealand could be linked to the roll-out of community-wide skin cancer prevention programmes.

‘‘One possible explanation for the declining melanoma rates in New Zealand is that we could be seeing the first effects of the sunsafety messages and prevention campaigns that commenced in the 1990s, several decades after similar efforts were initiated in Australia.’’

The study also found invasive melanoma rates in Denmark, which was ranked third-highest for that type of cancer, were static.

Meanwhile, in the UK, Sweden, Norway and Canada, rates were on the rise.

Cancer Society medical director Dr Chris Jackson said Kiwis and Aussies needed to work together.

‘‘Overall, the predictions of the number of melanoma cases in New Zealand are that they will increase and place a growing burden on the health system. It is tragic that for a largely preventable disease NZ continues to have such extremely high rates.’’

He called for the Government to launch a sustained, funded, sunsafety campaign.