Colorectal cancer in New Zealand

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cause of cancer death. It is a major health problem in New Zealand where 2624 new cases of CRC were registered in 2001 (up from 2554 in 1999), with an age-standardised rate of 43.7 per 100,000. In recent years there has been little improvement in survival—the mortality in New Zealand has been relatively constant at 18.6 per 100,00