Cancer is the second leading cause of death for city residents after cardio-cerebral vascular diseases.

Lung, colon, gastric, thyroid and breast cancers are the deadliest cancers in the city, Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention said during the city’s cancer prevention and control educational week.

There are 66,000 new cancer patients reported every year, with an incidence of 465 in every 100,000 — higher than other cities in China but representing about two thirds of that in developed countries.

The rising number of the elderly population and the high medical capability for cancer diagnosis were the major reasons why the city’s cancer incidence was higher than other regions in the nation, experts said.

There are 38,000 local residents killed by cancer a year, with a death rate of 266 for every 100,000. Early cancer screening and improved capability on cancer identification, along with intervention and treatment, was reducing cancer death rates, said Shanghai Center for Disease Control.

“Early detection and intervention are extremely important for cancer treatment and have become a major task of health fields and the government,” said Dr Han Baohui, vice president of Shanghai Chest Hospital, a leading hospital in China for lung cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Thanks to the early screening and improved medical skills, the survival rate of cancer patients has increased steadily. There are over 350,000 cancer patients living in the city.