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Oncology

Appropriate use of tumour markers

The appropriate use of serum tumour marker testing is complex and patient harm can occur when testing is requested but not clinically... View Article

May 2023

Gynaecological cancers – follow-up and surveillance

Follow-up and surveillance of patients who have undergone curative-intent treatment for gynaecological cancer is an opportunity... View Article

May 2023

Vaginal cancer – early detection and referral

Vaginal cancer is the least common type of gynaecological cancer in New Zealand with an average of 17 females newly diagnosed... View Article

April 2023

Vulval cancer – early detection and referral

Vulval cancer is a rare gynaecological cancer in New Zealand, with an average of 52 females newly diagnosed each year (from 2015... View Article

April 2023

Endometrial cancer – early detection and referral

Uterine cancer is the most prevalent gynaecological cancer in New Zealand, with an average of 627 females newly diagnosed each... View Article

March 2023

Ovarian cancer – early detection and referral

Ovarian cancer is the second most common gynaecological cancer in New Zealand after endometrial cancer, with an average of 371... View Article

February 2023

Cervical cancer – early detection and referral

The risk of cervical cancer is significantly reduced through HPV vaccination and cervical screening programmes, however, there... View Article

October 2022

Early detection of melanoma and assessment of asymptomatic people at high risk

Lesion thickness is the strongest predictor of prognosis in patients with a primary cutaneous melanoma. Therefore, identifying... View Article

December 2021

Melanoma: post-treatment follow-up and surveillance

Post-treatment follow-up and long-term surveillance of people with a history of melanoma improves the likelihood that recurrence... View Article

December 2021

Lung cancer follow-up and surveillance: the role of primary care

Transitioning from active treatment to post-treatment care is an important milestone in the long-term health of people who have... View Article

October 2021

Surveillance for people with polyps or inflammatory bowel disease

Guidance for following up people who have had polyps identified on colonoscopy and people with inflammatory bowel disease, who... View Article

August 2021

Follow-up and surveillance for people after treatment for bowel cancer

Bowel cancer is a leading cause of cancer mortality in New Zealand, second only to lung cancer. Follow-up and surveillance of... View Article

August 2021

Cancer care: the role of primary care in identifying and managing cachexia

Through improvements in diagnosis and treatment, one in three people in New Zealand with cancer now achieve sustained remission... View Article

April 2021

Early detection of lung cancer in primary care

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers in New Zealand and the leading cause of cancer death. By the time of diagnosis,... View Article

March 2021

National report: Testing for prostate cancer in primary care

This report provides an overview of laboratory prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing in primary care to facilitate reflection,... View Article

July 2020

Referral of patients with features suggestive of bowel cancer: Ministry of Health guidance

Bowel cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer death in New Zealand. Approximately one-quarter of diagnoses are made... View Article

February 2020

Testing for prostate cancer: helping patients to decide

Testing for prostate cancer is a difficult issue as many prostate cancers are low risk and do not necessarily result in adverse... View Article

February 2020

Biosimilars: the future of prescribing biological medicines

Biological medicines are an important advancement in the pharmaceutical treatment of patients with inflammatory and immunological... View Article

January 2020

Reducing the burden of melanoma in New Zealand Part 1: Prevention and risk assessment

Limiting UV radiation exposure through sun smart behaviour is the key to preventing melanoma. However, incidence and mortality... View Article

January 2020

Reducing the burden of melanoma in New Zealand Part 2: Early detection of melanoma

Identification of melanoma at the earliest possible clinical stage improves outcomes; lesion thickness is the strongest predictor... View Article

January 2020

Reducing the burden of melanoma in New Zealand: Prevention and risk assessment

Limiting UV radiation exposure through sun smart behaviour is the key to preventing melanoma. However, incidence and mortality... View Article

January 2020

HPV vaccination: getting the programme back on track

Vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) infection provides safe and effective protection from genital warts, most cervical... View Article

March 2019

Hereditary diffuse gastric cancer: an overview for primary care

Hereditary diffuse gastric cancer makes up around 1% of stomach cancer diagnoses, however, Māori in New Zealand are disproportionately... View Article

September 2018

Kupe from the Medtech tool bar

Kupe is freely available on the web and we would also like to make it available for general practitioners and practice nurses... View Article

May 2018

Prostate cancer testing decision support tool for patients and their families

Discussing the pros and cons of prostate cancer testing within a consultation can be challenging. To help General Practitioners... View Article

April 2018

Immune checkpoint inhibitors: a new cancer treatment

Immune checkpoint inhibitors, such as pembrolizumab (Keytruda), are new cancer treatments which are associated with a wide range... View Article

March 2018

How to use fluorouracil and imiquimod for non-melanoma skin cancer in a general practice setting

Fluorouracil and imiquimod creams are fully subsidised topical treatments, suitable for some patients with non-melanoma skin cancers;... View Article

January 2017

Improving the safety of community-based chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is predominantly managed in secondary care, but many prescriptions for oral medicines are dispensed and taken in... View Article

October 2015

An HPV update: vaccination coverage needs to be improved

Vaccination against human papillomaviruses (HPV) is fully subsidised for girls and young women to reduce their risk of cervical... View Article

October 2015

The New Zealand Laboratory Schedule and Test Guidelines: Anatomic Pathology Tests

The New Zealand Laboratory Schedule provides clinicians with consistent guidance when considering requesting laboratory tests.... View Article

April 2015

Melanoma of the foot

Acral melanoma is a subtype of cutaneous melanoma, which manifests on the palms, wrists and soles of the feet (including the nail... View Article

December 2014

The New Zealand Laboratory Schedule and Test Guidelines: genetic tests

The New Zealand Laboratory Schedule provides clinicians with consistent guidance when considering requesting laboratory tests.... View Article

November 2014

News Updates

This article has been archived. If you would like access to the original article please contact: [email protected] View Article

October 2014

News Updates

Does aspirin protect against cancer? More high-quality research is needed View Article

September 2014

Managing non-melanoma skin cancer in primary care: A focus on topical treatments

When a patient presents with a suspicious skin lesion the first step is to assess the likelihood of melanoma being present and... View Article

December 2013

How to increase the uptake of cervical screening: A profile of success

A cervical smear test is an effective method for the early detection of cervical cancer, and for reducing cancer mortality. However,... View Article

October 2013

Health literacy plays an important role in boosting cervical screening uptake

Susan Reid and Carla White from health literacy and communication specialists, Workbase, explain how understanding and reducing... View Article

October 2013

Cervical Screening – Are we reaching our targets?

There are approximately 180 new diagnoses of cervical cancer in New Zealand each year. Having regular cervical smears can reduce... View Article

October 2013

Interpreting urine dipstick tests in adults: a reference guide for primary care

A urine dipstick positive for haematuria or proteinuria is a relatively common occurrence in primary care. For many patients there... View Article

June 2013

Upfront: Lung cancer in New Zealand

Lung cancer in New Zealand: overcoming barriers View Article

November 2012

Following up prostate cancer in primary care

Cancer services in New Zealand are undergoing major changes over the next few years. Primary care clinicians are likely to have... View Article

October 2012

A new model for cancer care in New Zealand

An ageing population, earlier diagnosis and advances in oncology treatment are contributing to a rising number of cancer survivors... View Article

October 2012

Appropriate use of the faecal occult blood test for colorectal cancer

What is a faecal occult blood test? When should a faecal occult blood test be requested? How should the results of a faecal... View Article

June 2012

Surveillance of people at increased risk of colorectal cancer

The incidence of colorectal cancer in New Zealand is high by international standards. New Zealand females have one of the highest... View Article

May 2012

The HPV vaccination programme: addressing low uptake

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine was added to the national immunisation schedule in 2008 for females aged 12 years. The... View Article

April 2012

PHO Performance Programme - six years on

The PHO Performance Programme was established in 2005 to improve the health of people enrolled in general practices in New Zealand... View Article

December 2011

Making sense of serum protein bands

Serum protein bands (monoclonal gammopathy) will sometimes be found following serum protein electrophoresis in patients presenting... View Article

July 2011

Detecting malignant melanoma

New Zealand has one of the highest rates of melanoma in the world. Melanoma is the most common cancer among New Zealand men aged... View Article

February 2011

Increasing the uptake of breast screening

Significant progress has been made in increasing the rate of breast cancer screening in New Zealand. However, Māori women still... View Article

February 2011

Overcoming barriers to cervical screening in Pacific women

Cervical screening rates in New Zealand have continued to increase following the introduction of the National Cervical Screening... View Article

November 2010

PSA screening in asymptomatic men

Prostate cancer screening in asymptomatic men is a controversial public health issue generating much debate with polarised views... View Article

July 2010

The use of screening tests

GPs frequently perform tests for screening purposes, whether for formal screening programmes, such as cervical screening, or less... View Article

July 2010

Appropriate use of tumour markers

The key role for tumour marker tests is in managing patients with established malignancy. Tumour markers are not indicated as... View Article

July 2010

Bowel cancer screening in New Zealand

Progress to date on a national screening programme for bowel cancer View Article

July 2010

Smoking related cancer morbidity and mortality

The majority of people with cancer will initially present to general practice, therefore GPs have an excellent opportunity to... View Article

December 2009

Breast screening - achieving equity

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in New Zealand women. The national target for breast screening is for 70% of... View Article

November 2009

Cervical Screening in New Zealand

Liquid-based cytology (LBC) and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) testing have recently been adopted to aid with the collection, diagnosis... View Article

October 2009

Cervical smears - achieving equity

After the introduction of the National Cervical Screening Programme, rates of cervical screening increased and the overall incidence... View Article

September 2009

Gardasil vaccine: Update

Gardasil vaccine has now been added to the National Immunisation Schedule. In this article we outline the eligibility criteria... View Article

December 2008

Upfront: The unequal impact of cancer.

Cancer has a significant and disproportionate impact on Māori, with significant disparities in experiences, quality of health... View Article

December 2008

Imiquimod cream (Aldara) for genital warts and basal cell carcinoma

Imiquimod enhances the immune response to viral infections and tumours by stimulating the immune system to release interferon... View Article

September 2008

HPV vaccines: An overview

Dr Nikki Turner is the Director of the Immunisation Advisory Centre. Here she provides us with an overview of the two currently... View Article

April 2008

Herceptin the facts

A focus on the clinical issues surrounding the use of Herceptin including latest results from clinical trials. View Article

April 2007