China's cancer rate has climbed to alarming new heights, with at least one person being diagnosed with a form of cancer every six minutes, according to the country's National Cancer Registration Center.
There are 3.12 million new cancer cases reported in China annually, an average of 8,550 people per day, according to a report published by the center earlier this year. At present, one in eight people diagnosed with cancer will die from it, a mortality rate of about 13%.
Chen Wanqing, deputy director of the center, said China will have 6 million new cancer patients and 3 million cancer-related deaths every year by 2020.
Experts note that cancer incidence will only continue to rise over the next decade, and have attributed the trend to the country's serious air and water pollution.
Wei Kuangrong, director of the Cancer Research Institute at Zhongshan People's Hospital in Guangdong province, said that 8.34 people were diagnosed and 5.27 people died from cancer in Zhongshan every day in 2009. In the 1970s, the rate for both was only 0.78.
Wei said that nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a form of cancer that originates in the upper region behind the nose, has become extremely prevalent in the city. Other areas across the country have also reported high incidences of specific forms of cancer. The city of Qidong in Jiangsu province has reported unusually high rates of liver cancer.
Experts have speculated that the geographical distribution of cancer across the country may be linked to local eating customs, environmental conditions or other factors, though no theory is regarded as conclusive.
Wang Ning, the deputy director of the Beijing Cancer Institute and Hospital, predicts that China's cancer rate will not drop over the next 10 years and the nation will be lucky if the rate remains steady.
There are 3.12 million new cancer cases reported in China annually, an average of 8,550 people per day, according to a report published by the center earlier this year. At present, one in eight people diagnosed with cancer will die from it, a mortality rate of about 13%.
Chen Wanqing, deputy director of the center, said China will have 6 million new cancer patients and 3 million cancer-related deaths every year by 2020.
Experts note that cancer incidence will only continue to rise over the next decade, and have attributed the trend to the country's serious air and water pollution.
Wei Kuangrong, director of the Cancer Research Institute at Zhongshan People's Hospital in Guangdong province, said that 8.34 people were diagnosed and 5.27 people died from cancer in Zhongshan every day in 2009. In the 1970s, the rate for both was only 0.78.
Wei said that nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a form of cancer that originates in the upper region behind the nose, has become extremely prevalent in the city. Other areas across the country have also reported high incidences of specific forms of cancer. The city of Qidong in Jiangsu province has reported unusually high rates of liver cancer.
Experts have speculated that the geographical distribution of cancer across the country may be linked to local eating customs, environmental conditions or other factors, though no theory is regarded as conclusive.
Wang Ning, the deputy director of the Beijing Cancer Institute and Hospital, predicts that China's cancer rate will not drop over the next 10 years and the nation will be lucky if the rate remains steady.
