Cancer management to come under spotlight this week
Cancer has become a severe public health issue that requires wide awareness, local health authorities said ahead of the national cancer prevention and control week which starts on Saturday.
The three most prevalent cancers in the city are lung cancer, colorectal cancer and thyroid cancer, according to the latest figures released by the Shanghai Health Commission on Wednesday.
There were 91,400 cases of cancer reported in 2019, with an incidence of 623 in every 100,000 people. About 38,300 people died of cancer in the same year, making cancer the second most common cause of death for local residents following cerebro-cardiovascular disease.
Shanghai has focused on cancer management for decades and started cancer registration over 40 years ago, gathering scientific data for policymaking, execution and evaluation.
The city has promoted early screening, intervention, diagnosis and treatment to improve cancer management and enhance life quality of residents.
Consultations and talks on cancer prevention and control have been launched across the city.
So far, about 42 percent of patients are diagnosed with cancer in the early stages and the five-year survival rate, a term meaning clinical recovery, has reached 56 percent, showing steady growth. The mortality rate of cancer continues to drop and is 42 percent lower than 40 years ago, the commission said.
Since introducing community-based colorectal cancer screening in 2013, the city has conducted 5.76 million primary screenings, detecting over 80,000 people with pre-cancerous changes and 23,000 people with colorectal cancer after further checks and diagnosis. Among the cancer sufferers, 46 percent were in the early stages, 30 percentage points higher than those being admitted to hospital with symptoms.
Shanghai will continue community screening this year, offering free testing for 400,000 residents, and boost the promotion of colonoscopies among people over 50 years old.
A series of campaigns, lectures and educational programs will be launched in the city during the week to increase public understanding of the importance and awareness of cancer prevention and control, the authority said.
