New Zealand has the world’s highest rates of bowel cancer (colon, rectum and rectosigmoid junction cancer). Bowel cancer is New Zealand’s third most common cancer type. Colorectal cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the colon or the rectum. Read more about NZ-specific factors relating and key points relating to bowel cancer in NZ here. Read more about bowel cancer screening here. Each year about 3000 people are diagnosed with the disease and more than 1200 people die from it. Statistics from different parts of NZ show that the NZ’s Southern regions have the highest rates of bowel cancer in the country. A bowel screening programme has been rolled out across the country by the Ministry of Health following a pilot carried out at the Waitemata DHB. To educate people more about bowel cancer in NZ, a documentary has been produced, called NZ’s Silent Killer. Research is needed to understand the factors leading to New Zealand’s high rates, and for translation of these findings into clinical practice, and implementation of best practice to bring NZ’s rates down. As a step towards translation of research into clinical practice, and implementation of best practice, on the 20th June of 2018 the Ministry of Health published the Minimum Standards for Molecular Testing of Colorectal Cancer in New Zealand.
Bowel Cancer Research Areas Involving NZ Researchers:
Bowel Cancer and Behavioural Research
Professor Louise Signal, Professor Ann Richardson, Associate Professor Brian Cox, Dr Mary-Jane Sneyd, Associate Professor Yoram Barak,
Bowel Cancer Biology
Dr Swee Tan, Associate Professor Diane Kenwright, Dr Kirsty Danielson, Associate Professor Elizabeth Dennett, Professor Richard Gearry, Professor Margreet Vissers, Associate Professor Gabi Dachs, Helen Morrin, Dr Elisabeth Phillips, Professor Frank Frizelle, Dr Jacqui Keenan, Dr Rachel Purcell, Dr Chris Jackson, Professor Antony Braithwaite, Dr Aniruddha Chatterjee, Dr Nick Fleming, Dr David Markie, Dr Anna Wiles, Professor Sarah Young, Professor John McCall, Associate Professor Mark Thompson-Fawcett,
Genetics: Adjunct Professor Mac Gardner; Professor Parry Guilford,
Epigenetics: Professor Parry Guilford, Dr Donghui Zou,
Bioinformatic analysis: Associate Professor Mik Black
Molecular targets in bowel ca: Professor Rhonda Rosengren; Deer velvet supplementation to treat bowel ca:Professor Rhonda Rosengren
Immune profiling and vaccine development: Associate Professor Rosyln Kemp
Bowel Cancer Detection and Screening (and Epidemiology)
Dr Arindam Basu, Associate Professor Tim Eglinton, Professor Terence Doyle, Associate Professor Tony Reeder, Dr Mary-Jane Sneyd,
Bowel Cancer Treatment, Including Pre-clinical Models and Clinical Trials
Professor Michael Findlay, Mr Mark Jeffery, Dr Chris Jackson, Dr Sharon Pattison,
Bowel Cancer End-of-Life Care Research
Dr Rae Noble-Adams, Dr Kate Grundy, Dr Richard Egan
Bowel Cancer Health Services and Outcomes Research
Professor Mark Elwood, June Atkinson, Professor Tony Blakely, Gordon Purdie, Professor Diana Safarti, Dr Rae Noble-Adams, Dr Ian Sheerin, Professor Frank Frizelle, Associate Professor Tim Eglinton, Mr Chris Wakeman, Dr Andrew McCombie, Mr Mark Jeffery, Dr Chris Jackson, Professor John McCall, Associate Professor Mark Thompson-Fawcett, Dr John Woodfield, Associate Professor Konrad Richter, Mr Patrick Lyall,
Bowel Cancer Patient Participation Research
Bowel Cancer Survivor Research
Professor Katrina Sharples, Dr Sarah Derrett, Dr Chris Jackson, Professor Michael Findlay, Professor Louise Signal, Professor Diana Safarti, Associate Professor Tim Eglinton, Dr Chris Jackson, Dr Richard Egan, Associate Professor Mark Thompson-Fawcett,
Some Recent Bowel Cancer Publications Involving NZ Researchers
Sharples KJ, Firth MJ, Hinder VA, Hill AG, Jeffery M, Sarfati D, Brown C, Atmore C, Lawrenson RA, Reid PM, Derrett SL, Macapagal J, Keating JP, Secker AH, De Groot C, Jackson CG, Findlay MP.
N Z Med J. 2018 Jun 8;131(1476):24-39.
Taylor ES, McCall JL, Shen S, Girardin A, Munro FM, Black MA, Ward-Hartstonge KA, Kemp RA.
Int J Cancer. 2018 May 11. doi: 10.1002/ijc.31598. [Epub ahead of print]
Reynolds LM, Bissett IP, Consedine NS.
BMC Cancer. 2018 May 3;18(1):518. doi: 10.1186/s12885-018-4423-5.
Liu LQ, Nie SP, Shen MY, Hu JL, Yu Q, Gong D, Xie MY.
J Agric Food Chem. 2018 May 2;66(17):4384-4393. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.8b00710.
New Zealand-Specific Information on Bowel Cancer:
For NZ Patients
Bowel Cancer Treatment
Bowel Cancer Screening
Bowel Cancer Diagnosis
Bowel Cancer Prevention
Bowel Cancer Genetics
Standards of Service Provision for Bowel Cancer Patients in New Zealand – Provisional
This provisional bowel cancer tumour standard describes the level of service that a person with bowel cancer in New Zealand should have access to. All of the recently developed provisional tumour standards include a number of standard statements that are generic across most cancers; they apply to all people with cancer and to all cancer types.