Aotearoa Cancer Research Landscape

A systems view of cancer research, 2016 to 2026

Overview

New Zealand's cancer burden is growing. So is the research effort behind it. But the relationship between the two has never been easy to see.

Around 80 people are diagnosed with cancer every day, with annual diagnoses projected to rise from just over 30,000 in 2025 to more than 45,000 by 2044. As cancer remains the country's leading cause of death, understanding where research is being funded, who is conducting it, what it produces and where clinical capability sits becomes increasingly important.

Behind that burden is a research system: the researchers, institutions, funding, publications, intellectual property and clinical trials that shape what becomes possible in cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Over the past decade, approximately $270 million has been directed towards that system, supporting 491 projects and a research community of 586 researchers.

This study examines that system as a connected whole.

Diagnosis and projection figures: Te Whatu Ora, Cancer Data Web Tool.

Research capability and funding

New Zealand's cancer research capability sits within a relatively small community of researchers, yet the scale and reach of their collective output is substantial.

During the period examined, 586 researchers contributed to cancer research, with their research involving collaborators across more than 140 countries.

Funding comes from both public and philanthropic sources. The Health Research Council of New Zealand is the largest single funder, and within its portfolio, cancer received the largest allocation of any health issue over the period.

Philanthropic organisations also make a significant contribution. Among them, the Cancer Society of New Zealand, Breast Cancer Cure, Cancer Research Trust New Zealand, Cure Kids and the Canterbury Medical Research Foundation account for a substantial share of identified cancer research funding.

Cancer research in New Zealand is concentrated across two institutions, with the University of Auckland and the University of Otago accounting for the largest share of projects and funding between them.

Clinical trial activity and leadership

531 cancer clinical trials were recorded as running in New Zealand during the decade examined. 149 were New Zealand research-led, meaning a New Zealand university or research institute was connected through the principal investigator's affiliation or through sponsorship.

That proportion varies considerably by cancer type. Some are led predominantly from New Zealand, while others carry substantial trial activity with limited domestic research leadership.

The distinction carries weight. Hosting a clinical trial develops delivery and implementation capability. Leading a trial develops scientific and investigative capability. The two can overlap, but they do not accumulate in the same way or necessarily in the same places.

Research activity and cancer incidence

Research activity and cancer incidence are distributed differently across cancer types.

Prostate cancer recorded 4,782 registrations in 2023, more than any other cancer type represented in the analysis, but has 13 projects and $4.59 million in identified funding. Pancreatic cancer recorded 733 registrations and has four projects and $1.06 million in identified funding. Bladder cancer recorded 537 registrations and thyroid cancer 286, and neither had an identified funded research project. Stomach cancer recorded 553 registrations alongside 19 projects and $11.08 million in funding.

These differences are not evidence that any individual funding decision is inappropriate. Research portfolios are shaped by investigator expertise, scientific opportunity, collaboration networks, cohort availability, infrastructure and grant timing. Investment does not follow incidence in a one-to-one relationship, nor should it be expected to.

What matters is that the aggregate relationship between need, research capability and investment has historically been difficult to observe.

This study makes that relationship visible.

About the study

The study describes the structure and activity of New Zealand's cancer research system rather than evaluating the quality of individual research programmes. It does not assess individual researchers or institutions, and it does not prescribe where future investment should be directed. Its observations are derived from the underlying data.

The analysis is built on Antlect's research data foundation, which connects researchers, organisations, funding programmes, publications, registered intellectual property and clinical trials into a single research knowledge graph.

The full report includes a detailed comparison of current cancer research activity against the priorities identified in the New Zealand Cancer Action Plan 2026 to 2029.