Mortality of Major Cancers in Guangxi, China: Sex, Age and Geographical Differences from 1971 and 2005

Abstract

The incidence and mortality rates of liver and nasopharyngeal cancer in Guangxi province of China havealways been among the highest in the world, and cancer is one of the major diseases that pose a threat to thehealth of residents in Guangxi. However, no systematic study has been performed to evaluate the time trendsin the structure of cancer-related deaths and cancer mortality. In this study, we reveal sex, age and geographydifferences of cancers mortality between three death surveys (1971 to 1973, 1990 to 1992, and 2004 to 2005). Theresults show that the standardized mortality rate of cancer in Guangxi residents has risen from 43.3/100,000to 84.2/100,000, the share of cancer deaths in all-cause deaths has increased from 13.3% to 20.7%, and cancerhas become the second most common cause of death. The five major cancers, liver cancer, lung cancer, gastriccancer, nasopharyngeal cancer and colorectal cancer, account for 60% of all the cancer deaths. Cancers withgrowing mortality rates over the past 30 years include lung cancer, colorectal cancer, liver cancer and femalebreast cancer, of which lung cancer is associated with the sharpest rise in mortality, with a more than 600% risein both men and women. Cancer death in Guangxi residents occurs mainly in the elderly population above 45years of age, especially in people over the age of 65. The areas with the highest mortality rates for liver cancerand nasopharyngeal cancer, which feature regional high incidences, include Chongzuo and Wuzhou. Therefore,for major cancers such as liver cancer, lung cancer, gastric cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer and female breastcancer in Guangxi, we can select high-risk age groups as the target population for cancer prevention and controlefforts in high-prevalence areas in a bid to achieve the ultimate goal of lowering cancer mortality in Guangxi.