New Zealand is now the country with the worse rate for invasive melanoma, overtaking Australia. The study also found that the skin cancer rate in New Zealand is getting worse.

Since 2005, the melanoma rate in Australia has been decreasing while the rate in New Zealand continues to increase. According to Brisbane-based QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, New Zealand's rising melanoma rate will continue to surge until at least 2017.

Melanoma experts in New Zealand said the increasing rate is due to the lack of the government's commitment to address the problem for over 10 years. According to Associate Professor Tony Reeder from the University of Otago, the government's lack of action in prohibiting sun beds is an example of this political failure.

"In stark contrast, Australia acted decisively to protect its population by implementing a comprehensive ban," said Reeder.

Professor David Whiteman, one of the study authors, said that while Kiwis have become smarter when it comes to skin cancer prevention, there is more to be done. Unfortunately, for many senior Kiwis diagnosed with skin cancer, the damage has been dealt.

"As New Zealand's population ages, the number of melanomas diagnosed will continue to increase. Those people are developing melanomas now, many decades after the cancer-causing exposure to sunlight occurred," said Whiteman.

For the study, the researchers compared skin cancer frequencies in six countries in the last 30 years. The countries involved in the study were Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Britain and the United States. They found that from 1982 to 2011, the rate of invasive skin cancer in New Zealand almost doubled.

Study highlights included:

• Skin cancer rates in New Zealand surged from 26 cases per 100,000 people to nearly 50 cases from 1982 to 2011.
• The researchers predicted that the melanoma rates in New Zealand will start to drop from next year. They estimated that the reduction will result to just 46 cases per 100,000 people in 2031.
• In 2005, skin cancer rates in Australia surged - 49 cases per 100,000 people. In 2011, the rates declined to 48 cases per 100,000 people.
• The researchers projected that the melanoma rates in Australia will continue to drop. By 2031, there could be just 41 cases per 100,000 people.
• As for the skin cancer rates in Norway, UK, Sweden and United States' Caucasian population, the researchers predicted the rates will continue to surge at least until 2022.

Photo: Michael Dorausch | Flickr