China's gastric cancer cases on rise

TIANJIN - Deaths from gastric cancer are expected to steadily rise over the next two decades in China as the disease proliferates, according to a Chinese cancer expert.

It is estimated that for the segment of population above the age of 65, there will be 860,022 new gastric cancer cases annually by the year 2030, Liang Han, an expert from the Tianjin Cancer Hospital, said at a gastric cancer forum that was held in north China's city of Tianjin on April 21-22.

"It will be a tremendous task to prevent and control gastric cancer in China," said Liang, who is also a committee member of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association.

Liang said China has been badly hit by the disease, as it is home to the most gastric cancer patients of any country. He cited World Health Organization statistics as saying that China's gastric cancer cases account for 43 percent of the global total of 989,000 each year.

Liang said there is a great difference between urban and rural people in terms of the morbidity and mortality of gastric cancer.

Gastric cancer is the prime contributor to malignant tumor morbidity and mortality in rural areas, while in cities, it is ranked second and third, respectively, Liang said.

The morbidity of gastric cancer in rural areas is 2.2 times of that in cities, while its mortality is 2.5 times greater, according to Liang.

"The prevention and treatment of gastric cancer in rural areas is key to the country's handling of tumorous diseases," Liang said.

Although China has made progress in gastric cancer diagnosis and treatment, it is still lagging behind Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK), Liang said.

The gastric cancer forum, co-hosted by the Tianjin Cancer Hospital and Tianjin Anti-Cancer Association, attracted more than 20 cancer experts, as well as about 300 medical workers and researchers from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea.