China’s latest cancer report is released. What key information has it “revealed”?

Not long ago, Academician He Jie's team published the latest data report on cancer incidence and mortality in China in 2016 in the JNCC journal.

Seeing this news, many people may have a question: It is already 2022, why is the cancer data for 2016 released only now? In fact, it takes a certain amount of time to collect, organize, and verify cancer data, so cancer data statistics are usually delayed by 3 to 5 years. Therefore, this report is the latest and most representative cancer report in China.

What information does the latest version of the China Cancer Report "reveal"? NetEase Health's "Health Focus" will help you understand the truth behind the data changes.

01 Five major cancers are the most common, and lung cancer is the "number one killer"

According to the report, there were 4.064 million new cancer cases in China in 2016. Lung cancer had the highest number of new cases, accounting for about 20.4% of all new cancer cases. The next highest number were colorectal cancer, stomach cancer, liver cancer, and breast cancer, with 408,000, 397,000, 389,000, and 306,000 new cases, respectively.

Lung cancer is the number one killer of cancer patients in China, and ranks first in mortality. In 2016, the total number of cancer deaths in China was 2.414 million, of which 657,000 were caused by lung cancer. Other cancers with similarly high mortality rates include liver cancer, stomach cancer, colorectal cancer, and esophageal cancer.

02 The top ten most common cancers for men and women, lung cancer and breast cancer are on the list

Relatively speaking, men are more likely to develop lung cancer, liver cancer, stomach cancer, colorectal cancer and esophageal cancer, while the most common cancers in women are breast cancer, lung cancer, thyroid cancer, colorectal cancer and cervical cancer.

It is important to note that female gender is the strongest risk factor for breast cancer, with only about 0.5%-1% of breast cancer occurring in men. Women in every country in the world are at risk of developing breast cancer at any age after puberty, but the incidence increases in later years.

Among people who died of cancer, the number of deaths in men of all ages was higher than that in women. Among them, the mortality rates of gallbladder cancer and thyroid cancer were higher in women than in men, and the mortality rates of all other cancers were higher in men than in women.

Fortunately, although breast cancer is highly prevalent, its mortality rate is not that high. Compared with the mortality rate, lung cancer is about 2.5 times that of breast cancer.

03 Cancer incidence and mortality are mainly among the elderly, with the peak being between 60 and 79 years old

In addition to the different types of cancer, there are also differences in the age at which cancer occurs between men and women. In general, the peak of new cancer cases and deaths in both men and women is between 60 and 79 years old. In the age groups of 0-19 years old and over 60 years old, the number of new cancer cases in men is higher than that in women, while in the age group of 15-59 years old, the number of new cancer cases in women is higher than that in men.

04 The cancer incidence rate in cities is higher than in rural areas, while the cancer mortality rate in rural areas is higher than in cities

There is a big difference in the distribution of cancers between urban and rural residents. In general, the cancer incidence rate in cities is higher than in rural areas. In terms of specific types of cancer, the incidence rates of lung cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer are higher in cities than in rural areas, while the incidence rates of liver cancer, stomach cancer, esophageal cancer, and cervical cancer are higher in rural areas than in cities.

In terms of cancer mortality, the overall rate in rural areas is higher than that in urban areas. The mortality rates of liver cancer, stomach cancer, esophageal cancer, and cervical cancer are higher in rural areas than in urban areas, while the mortality rates of lung cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer are higher in urban areas than in rural areas.

05 Cancer is also a controllable chronic disease, and there are "secrets" to prevent it

As early as 2006, cancer was defined by the World Health Organization as a controllable chronic disease that can be managed like diabetes and hypertension.

Cancer prevention can start with improving the internal environment of our body, that is, to enhance our "immunity". For example, a balanced diet can reduce the incidence of gastric cancer, esophageal cancer, and colorectal cancer; quitting smoking can reduce the risk of lung cancer; HPV vaccination can prevent cervical cancer; and hepatitis B vaccination can reduce the risk of liver cancer. In addition, you can also keep your immune system in good condition by controlling your weight, exercising moderately, and keeping a good mood.

We know that although some cancers are caused by genetic mutations, through the measures of "early detection, early diagnosis, and early treatment", cancer can be eliminated in its infancy. Therefore, people with a family history of cancer should not only pay attention to a healthy lifestyle, but also pay attention to early cancer screening. For example, low-dose chest CT can screen for lung cancer; B-ultrasound and alpha-fetoprotein can screen for liver cancer; breast B-ultrasound and molybdenum target can screen for breast cancer; gastroscopy can screen for gastric cancer and esophageal cancer; HPV and TCT can screen for cervical cancer, etc.

The real secret to preventing cancer lies in every aspect of your life. I hope everyone can take preventive measures and leave more time for their health.

References:

[1]Zheng RS, Zhang SW, Zeng HM, Wang SM, Sun KX, Chen R, Li L, Wei WQ, He J. Cancer incidence and mortality in China, 2016[J]. JNCC, 2022, 2(1): 1-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jncc.2022.02.002.

[2]https://www.who.int/zh/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/breast-cancer