NT chief medical officer Dr Hugh Heggie told Monday’s PFAS update meeting in Katherine the latest research showed no evidence of cancer clusters in the Katherine region.

Dr Heggie said Katherine’s cancer statistics were even lower on average than the rest of the NT.

He said the information was provided by the Health Department’s Health Gains Planning Branch which confirmed an earlier assessment regarding fears of elevated cancer rates in the Katherine region because of the chemical contamination.

That study is to be published online today on the NT EPA website.

“This analysis suggests there is no evidence to indicate higher incidence of cancers in Katherine Health District compared with the rest of the Top End, the rest of the NT and the national rates,” the study says.

But is also goes on to say: “Due to problems with geographic classifications, Katherine Township could not be clearly defined and distinguished from the wider Katherine Health District in this analysis.

“The residential information is not accurate enough for detailed geographic analysis, and any attempt to restrict the analysis to Katherine township would result in including and excluding some cases in error.

“Additionally, the small population in Katherine Health District reduces the statistical reliability of the estimates for this region.

“The NT Cancer Registry and the Australian Cancer Database record information on place of usual residence at the time of diagnosis. It is not possible to determine length of residency or place of previous residence using these datasets.

“A person diagnosed with cancer while living in the Katherine Health District may have lived there for only a short time.

“Alternatively, a person diagnosed with cancer elsewhere in the NT or Australia, may have lived in the Katherine Health District before the date of diagnosis,” the study warns.

While Dr Heggie on Monday said Katherine’s cancer rates were lower than the rest of the NT, the study says “the difference in rates was only statistically significant for melanoma of the skin”.

“While incidence of testicular cancer was slightly higher in Katherine Health District, the difference is not statistically significant.”