Cancer rates keep rising in China

Residents and many cancer patients consult with doctors in front of an outpatient building of the Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, in Beijing on April 11, 2015. [Photo/CFP]

Chinese medical experts are suggesting mortality rates for cancer are set to keep rising over the next 20 years.

A new survey by the National Central Cancer Registry shows about 3.3 million people were diagnosed with cancer in 2011.

Two-thirds of those diagnosed with the disease die from it in China.

The same survey shows that over the past decade, the number of cancer cases and cancer-caused deaths have been rising significantly.

A forecast by the International Agency on Research for Cancer says without effective measures, the death toll in China will reach 3 million in the next 5 years.

Lung cancer remains the top killer, with around 530 thousand dying every year.

Chen Wanqing is the vice director of the National Cancer Prevention and Control Research Office.

"As a whole, smoking is still the main cause. The smoking rates in China remain high. Air pollution is another contributor. The World Health Organization has listed air pollution as Group 1 carcinogen."

The same analysis also shows prostate cancer is also rising sharply.

Ma Jianhui is with the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

"In recent years the cases of prostate cancer have increased greatly in China. An aging population is the main factor. But on top of this, as people live longer, they tend to have fattier diets. Fat is directly linked to prostate cancer."

Medical experts are calling for more early prevention.

Around 80 percent of lung cancer patients in Beijing are in the terminal stages while in Europe and North America the proportion is around 50 percent.