Is cancer China's worst enemy?

(Ecns.cn) -- A new cancer case appears every six minutes on the Chinese mainland, which translates into 8,550 cancer patients every day, according to the 2012 Cancer Registry Annual Report cited by China Newsweek.

One out of about every eight of those patients will die from the disease, and the situation will only worsen in the next decade, says Chen Wanqing, deputy director of the Health Ministry's National Central Cancer Registry.

It is estimated that by 2020, cancer mortality in China will amount to 3 million people, and the number of patients will reach 6.6 million, he adds.

Numerous causes

Wei Kuangrong, 50, is an epidemiological expert at a tumor institute in Zhongshan, Guangdong province. He has collected local cancer data for nearly 30 years.

Wei says that, for reasons unknown, Zhongshan has had a high incidence of nasopharyngeal cancer, which affects the back of the nose near the base of the skull. It has ranked third among types of cancer that affect males, behind lung and colorectal cancer.

The number of cancer cases in Zhongshan has nearly quintupled since 1970, he adds.

Meanwhile, the central government has finally acknowledged the existence of China's many "cancer villages." Preliminary research by Yang Gonghuan, former deputy director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, shows a clear connection between water pollution and illness around the area of the Huaihe River, for example.

Air pollution in big cities is believed to be responsible for increased cases of lung cancer, even if there is insufficient scientific evidence. Nevertheless, a specialist at the Beijing Cancer Hospital has been quoted by media as saying that lung cancer cases will "skyrocket" around year 2033.

More affluent lifestyles appear to be behind other types of cancer.

Wealthy areas are more prone to breast, prostate, lymph and lung cancers than people in poorer areas, says Chen Wanqing, adding that such illnesses are linked to modern lifestyles that feature consumption of fatty foods and less exercise.

People living in disadvantaged areas are more likely to suffer from stomach, cervical and liver cancers, he points out.

Lung, stomach, colorectal and liver cancers are the most prominent among the Chinese population, while lung, liver and stomach cancers are the top killers, according to the 2012 Cancer Registry Annual Report.

Younger patients, aging population

Many doctors agree that more and more young people are now falling victim to cancer, reports China Newsweek.

Twenty years ago, only seniors were seen in the tumor ward at Zhongshan People's Hospital, but now at least one middle-aged patient can be found in every room.

According to recent figures, 87 out of 100,000 people aged 35 to 39 have been diagnosed with cancer. There are even patients younger than 20.

Ji Jiafu, director of the Beijing Cancer Hospital, says people didn't become aware of the health effects of PM2.5 until the past decade. Air pollution is unlikely to increase the risk of cancer for seniors, but it will increase among members of the younger generation who have been exposed to pollution since birth, he adds.

"If the environmental pollution continues, cancer will strike more of the next generation."

However, the cancer incidence rate also goes up as people age, peaking when they reach 80, says Chen Wanqing, whereas "in the past, people died of other illnesses before falling victim to cancer."

China's population over 60 years old will number around 216 million by 2015, an annual net increase of more than 8 million, according to figures from the Civil Affairs Ministry.

Given its rapidly aging population, "China's cancer burden will increase as well," says Chen.

Treatment and prevention

"China continues to have a relatively low cancer incidence, but its death rate is relatively high," adds Chen.

That's because a majority of newly diagnosed cases are already in the late stages, resulting in ineffective treatments and the increased likelihood of death, according to Wang Ning, deputy director of the Beijing-based National Office for Cancer Prevention and Control.

Regular body examinations and cancer screenings can help with early detection and treatment, she points out.

"In fact, cancer doesn't equal death," says Ji Jiafu.

Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer," which won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction and the Guardian Prize, elaborates on the notion of "prevention is cure" in a whole chapter.

In 1947, the Medical Research Council in the United Kingdom discussed possible causes of the "phenomenal increase" in deaths from lung cancer in the UK, and helped establish a link between smoking and cancer, which has influenced public policy and behavior. This has prevented millions of unnecessary deaths and culminated in a government ban on smoking in enclosed places.

But until China ends its love affair with tobacco, such policies seem unlikely to take hold here.