Global variations in cancer outcomes
While work within the C3 Research Group is focused on issues occurring within New Zealand, we are also actively involved in international collaborations and partnerships. We are the New Zealand representatives on multiple international work groups, and are contributing to global efforts to monitor and evaluate variation in cancer outcomes between nations.
Visit our publications and presentations on global indigenous inequalities in OUR Archive
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)
IARC is a global leader in cancer research, producing high-quality research that has global impact. Our Memorandum of Understanding includes team members embedded at IARC 's head office in Lyon, France, collaboration on cancer surveillance and participation in an international study investigating the viability of a H. pylori test-and-treat programme to curb the incidence of stomach cancer.
International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP)
ICBP is an international research collaboration that brings together clinicians, policymakers, researchers and data experts. Their goal is to lift the quality of cancer control internationally by measuring and comparing international variation in cancer survival, incidence and mortality, and to consider factors that might be driving these differences.
The C3 team work directly with the ICBP by providing New Zealand representatives on:
- ICBP Inequalities Network (Jason Gurney)
- ICBP Cancer Intelligence and Data Infrastructure Network (Jason Gurney)
- ICBP Oesophageal Cancer Network (Chris Jackson)
The C3 team also provide advice to Te Aho o Te Kahu – Cancer Control Agency on their contribution to ICBP activities.
The Lancet Commission on Cancer in the Commonwealth
The Commission, hosted by Harvard University, aims to bring together international experts in cancer control to provide a comprehensive understanding of the Commonwealth’s burden of cancer, and to identify opportunities to improve care across the 56 member countries.
In 2024, two members of the C3 team (Jason Gurney and Chris Jackson) were privileged to be appointed as the New Zealand Commissioners to The Lancet Commission on Cancer in the Commonwealth.
Visit The Lancet Oncology Commonwealth-wide Cancer Commission
Indigenous and social inequalities in cancer globally
As well as our work on Indigenous cancer outcomes for Māori in New Zealand, we also partner with international colleagues to examine cancer control issues affecting Indigenous populations globally.
- We contributed as co-authors on the Cancer in Indigenous Peoples textbook in 2024
- We hosted the Indigenous People and Cancer Symposium in 2018, which aimed to reach a shared agenda for Indigenous cancer control in Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands
Visit our publications and symposium presentations on global indigenous inequalities in OUR Archive
Cancer control and service planning in the Pacific
We worked in partnership with Lancet Oncology to develop a series on cancer control in Small Island Developing States. We led this work in collaboration with colleagues from around the Pacific and Caribbean regions, and from the Pacific Community (SPC), the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the World Health Organization and others.
Cancer and Pacific peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand
In 2022-2023 we updated the evidence on the most commonly-diagnosed cancers among Pacific peoples along with the most common causes of cancer death over 2007–2019. We found that Pacific peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand experience higher cancer incidence and a lower survival rate for several cancers, including lung, liver, and stomach cancers, when compared to the European population. This study underscores the need for intervention to reduce the burden of cancer amongst Pacific peoples, and improve cancer outcomes.
Pacific peoples in New Zealand experience higher rates of several cancers compared to other ethnic groups. Pacific peoples also carry a disproportionate burden of cancers attributable to obesity and infectious diseases. There is also evidence that Pacific peoples have poorer cancer survival compared to non-Pacific peoples for some cancers, although this area remains under-explored and thus poorly understood.
Cancer incidence, mortality and survival for Pacific Peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand