Cancer survival for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians: a national study of survival rates and excess mortality.

Background: National cancer survival statistics are available for the total Australian population but not Indigenous Australians, although their cancer mortality rates are known to be higher than those of other Australians. We aimed to validate analysis methods and report cancer survival rates for Indigenous Australians as the basis for regular national reporting.

Methods: We used national cancer registrations data to calculate all-cancer and site-specific relative survival for Indigenous Australians (compared with non-Indigenous Australians) diagnosed in 2001-2005.

Indigenous participation in the Australian Health Survey: a response.

The Australian Health Survey will deliver key health measures for all Australian children and adults, and collect information across Australia. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has consulted widely on the development of the Survey, and has shaped the survey according to strong and consistent advice in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is hoped that this approach will maximise survey response rates and place us in good trust to embark on the next survey round.

A case-control study of the protective benefit of cervical screening against invasive cervical cancer in NSW women.

Objective: To examine the effects of different Pap screening patterns in preventing invasive cervical cancer among women in New South Wales, Australia.

Methods: A total of 877 women aged 20-69 years diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer during 2000-2003 were matched with 2,614 controls by month and year of birth. Screening behavior patterns in 4 years preceding the time of cancer diagnosis in the cases were classified into none (no Pap test in the 4 years), 'irregular' (1 of the 4 years with Pap test(s)), and 'regular' (2 or more of the 4 years with a Pap test), and compared with those in the matched non-cases over the same period.

Left-sided excess of invasive cutaneous melanoma in six countries.

To investigate the laterality of cutaneous melanoma (ICD-10 C43), we obtained data spanning the period of diagnosis 1998-2003 from six population-based cancer registries: New South Wales, Australia; England; Finland; The Netherlands; Scotland; and the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program of the United States of America (restricted to 'White' race category only). For cases with laterality recorded, the overall ratios of left- to right-sided tumours were calculated. We found that left to right ratios were consistently greater than 1.

Anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression in Korean War veterans 50 years after the war.

Background: There has been no comprehensive investigation of psychological health in Australia's Korean War veteran population, and few researchers are investigating the health of coalition Korean War veterans into old age.

Aims: To investigate the association between war service, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression in Australia's 7525 surviving male Korean War veterans and a community comparison group.

Method: A survey was conducted using a self-report postal questionnaire which included the PTSD Checklist, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale and the Combat Exposure Scale.