Since 2008, the Ministry of Health has funded the Breast Surgeons of Australia and New Zealand Inc. (BreastSurgANZ) Quality Audit (formerly the National Breast Cancer Audit) to produce annual reports on the characteristics of early and locally advanced breast cancer in New Zealand.

The BreastSurgANZ Quality Audit (BQA) began in 1998 and collects data on the surgical care of early and locally advanced breast cancer patients in Australia and New Zealand.

Originally established by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, the audit is now funded and directed by the (BreastSurgANZ) and operated by the College.

In 2013 it was renamed the BreastSurgANZ Quality Audit (BQA).

In the reports, percentage case volumes for New Zealand data have been reported under the following main headings:

  1. Background information
  2. Invasive tumour characteristics
  3. DCIS tumour characteristics
  4. Breast surgery treatment
  5. Axillary surgery treatment
  6. Margins of excision for breast surgery
  7. Radiotherapy treatment
  8. Hormonal treatment
  9. Chemotherapy treatment
  10. Trastuzumab treatment.

In each case, the data compares patients referred from BreastScreen Aotearoa to those referred from other sources.

In the treatment sections any relevant guidelines and/or BQA Key Performance Indicators are noted, showing the percentage of cases which follow the guidelines and KPIs.

Background information, tumour characteristics and breast cancer treatments that are significantly different between referral sources are highlighted in the summary section. 

The annual reports can be accessed on the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons' website.

BreastScreen Aotearoa Annual Reports — Royal Australasian College of Surgeons