Survey found: my country has become the world's largest lung cancer country

According to survey results, the incidence of lung cancer in my country has increased rapidly in recent years. In 2000, there were 1.8 million to 2 million new cases, 1.4 million to 1.5 million deaths, and an incidence rate of 36.7/100,000. The total number of lung cancer patients ranks first in the world. Tobacco control will be an important strategy for China to control lung cancer in this century.

This is the information the reporter obtained yesterday at the first "China Lung Cancer North-South Summit Forum". During this three-day summit forum, government officials from inside and outside the province and well-known domestic lung cancer experts gathered in Jinling to discuss strategies for lung cancer prevention and treatment.

Reporters learned that the incidence of lung cancer has accelerated in recent years. The lung cancer mortality rate in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hefei and Nanjing has jumped to the top among all cancers. In 2000, the incidence of lung cancer in men in Shanghai had risen to 83.43/100,000, the highest in the country. Among the more than 20,000 new cancer patients in Beijing each year, lung cancer accounts for about a quarter.

The incidence of lung cancer among people in large cities has shown a new trend, with a significant increase in the incidence among young people and a particularly obvious increase in the incidence among women. The causes of lung cancer are relatively complex, but it is generally recognized in the medical community that risk factors such as environmental pollution, smoking and high-temperature fumes are the main culprits for the high incidence of lung cancer.

Reporters learned that lung cancer mortality in Jiangsu has ranked first among cancer deaths in cities. Xuzhou city has the highest lung cancer death rate, with a mortality rate of 27.3/100,000 males, 35.46/100,000 males, and 17.79/100,000 females. Lung cancer accounts for 24.57% of the causes of death from malignant tumors. One in every four cancer deaths dies from lung cancer. Lung cancer accounts for 5.71% of all causes of death, which means that for every 17 deaths among local residents, one dies from lung cancer.

Tobacco has been proven to be the main factor in the development of lung cancer. According to a survey conducted by Jiangsu Cancer Hospital, 80% of the 1,000 lung cancer patients admitted were caused by long-term smoking. If smokers smoke more than 25 cigarettes a day, 12% will develop lung cancer. The sharp increase in lung cancer in women is related to the increasing number of female smokers each year.

The National Cancer Prevention and Treatment Research Office of the Ministry of Health predicts that the number of lung cancer cases in China will increase by 120,000 between 2000 and 2005, with the number of male cases increasing from 260,000 in 2000 to 330,000 in 2005 and the number of female cases increasing from 120,000 to 170,000. More than 80% of lung cancer patients are already in the advanced stage when they see the hospital, having missed the best opportunity for surgical and multidisciplinary radical treatment. It is an arduous task to strengthen the tertiary prevention of lung cancer, strengthen the screening of high-risk groups and health examinations for middle-aged and elderly people, and carry out popular science publicity on lung cancer prevention and treatment knowledge.

This lung cancer summit forum is the first academic event since the founding of the People's Republic of China that brings together senior government officials, academicians of the two academies, and five generations of thoracic surgery and oncology experts to discuss China's lung cancer prevention and treatment strategies and promote exchanges and cooperation between the north and the south.