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. 2020 Apr;32(2):129-139.
doi: 10.21147/j.issn.1000-9604.2020.02.01.

Cancer burden and trends in China: A review and comparison with Japan and South Korea

Dianqin Sun  1 , Maomao Cao  1 , He Li  1 , Siyi He  1 , Wanqing Chen  1
Affiliations

Cancer burden and trends in China: A review and comparison with Japan and South Korea

Dianqin Sun et al. Chin J Cancer Res. 2020 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: To summarize the cancer burden and trends in China, compare the differences among China, Japan, and South Korea and discuss possible causes of the disparities.

Methods: Incidence and mortality data were extracted from the online cancer database including the GLOBOCAN 2018 and the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Trend analysis was conducted using the join-point analysis, and annual percent changes were calculated.

Results: Cancers resulted in approximately 62.9 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in China in 2017. Lung cancer had the greatest contribution, followed by liver cancer, stomach cancer, and esophageal cancer. The trajectory of progress in the reduction of liver and stomach cancers was observed in China. However, China still faced a heavy burden of lung cancer and a growing burden of cancers related to westernized lifestyle such as colorectal cancer, while Japan and South Korea have achieved reductions in colorectal cancer and lung cancer, respectively. Besides, China had a lower age-standardized cancer incidence rate but higher cancer mortality and DALY rates than Japan and South Korea.

Conclusions: China is in the cancer transition stage with a rising burden of colorectal, prostate, and breast cancers along with a heavy burden of lung and upper digestive tract cancers. Taking into consideration the effectiveness of screening and tobacco control in Japan and South Korea, improvement in the current tobacco control policy and cancer screening systems may contribute to cancer control in China.

Keywords: Cancer burden; China; comparison; trend.

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Figures

1
1. Age-standardized incidence and mortality rates per 100,000 populations of selected types of cancers in China (red), Japan (green), and South Korea (blue) in 2018. The data used to generate this figure were from the GLOBOCAN database (6).
2
2. Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) per 100,000 populations attributable to cancers by age and gender in China (A), Japan (B), and South Korea (C) in 2017. The estimates used to generate this figure were from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) website (7).
3
3. Trends in age-standardized incidence rates by cancer site and gender (triangle for male; circle for female) in China (red), Japan (green), and South Korea (blue). The data used to generate this figure were from the Cancer Incidence in Five Continents database (15).
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4. Rank changes in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to cancers and percentage change in all age and age-standardized DALY rates in China (A), Japan (B), and South Korea (C) from 1990 to 2017. The estimates used to generate this figure were from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) website (7). Age-standardized rates were calculated using the GBD reference population (18).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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