The number of deaths due to lung cancer in China has risen by 465 percent in the past 30 years, an official announced on Tuesday.

Lung cancer has replaced liver cancer to become the top killer among malignant tumors in China, Qi Xiaoqiu, an official with the Ministry of Health said at a press conference on the third national survey on causes of death in China.

In the past three decades, death rates of lung, liver, intestine, breast and bladder cancers have jumped and these cancers are closely linked to environment and life style, he said.

Among them, death rates of lung cancer and breast cancer registered the highest increase of 465 percent and 96 percent in the past 30 years, Qi said.

In the meantime, death rates of gullet, stomach, cervical cancers dropped steadily and cervical cancers had the largest decrease rate, he said.

The death rates of both urban and rural Chinese from cancers are higher than the world level, he said.

Currently, the death rate of malignant tumors has increased by 83.1 percent over the mid-1970s and by 22.5 percent over the early1990s, ministry statistics showed.

The death rate of malignant tumors in China's urban areas is higher than rural areas. Malignant tumor is the top killer for urban people and the second biggest killer for rural people, he said.

In urban areas, death rates of lung, intestine, pancreas and breast cancers are higher, while in rural areas, liver, stomach, gullet and cervical cancers are higher.

Qi said China will further its efforts to publicize knowledge of cancer prevention, healthy life style and balanced diet.

He also said the ministry will make more efforts to implement the occupation disease prevention law and reduce the environmental and occupational factors leading to cancers.

(Xinhua News Agency April 30, 2008)