The “cancer death clock” rate was cut by 14 seconds in 2012, from five minutes and 40 seconds in the previous year, with colorectal cancer continuing to occupy the top position of the nation’s 10 most common cancers for the seventh year in a row, according to the latest statistics released yesterday by the Health Promotion Administration (HPA).
“The number means that in 2012, every five minutes, 26 seconds someone in this country was diagnosed with cancer, compared with eight minutes, 24 seconds in 2003,” HPA Director-General Chiou Shu-ti (邱淑媞) told a news conference in Taipei.
The crude incidence rate showed that about 415 people developed cancer per 100,000 population in 2012, which represents one out of every 233 Taiwanese, Chiou said.
Aside from liver and stomach cancer — which both showed declining incidence rates for three consecutive years — the incidence for other cancers on the list of the 10 most prevalent increased during this period, the statistics showed.
The statistics also saw cervical cancer dropping off the top 10 list for the first time since the government started keeping records, while thyroid carcinoma made the list for the first time, in ninth position.
Of the 96,694 people who were diagnosed with cancer in 2012, the majority, or 14,965, developed colorectal cancer, followed by lung cancer (11,692), liver cancer (11,422), breast cancer (10,525) and oral cancer (7,047).
Rounding out the top 10 list were prostate cancer (4,735 people), stomach cancer (3,796), skin cancer (3,274), thyroid carcinoma (2,895) and esophageal cancer (2,372).
Compared with the 2011 statistics, significant increases were observed in the incidence rates for breast cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer and thyroid carcinoma, up by 1.6 people, 1.3 people, one person and one person per 100,000 population respectively, Chiou said.
She attributed the increasing prevalence of cancer to unhealthy lifestyles, including obesity, smoking, drinking, lack of exercise, excessive consumption of meat and high-fat products, and insufficient intake of fruits and vegetables.
“A majority of the 10 most common cancers are associated with obesity. Research has shown that women who are overweight are 1.6 times more susceptible to breast cancer than their average-weight counterparts. Thyroid carcinoma is also known to mostly strike young obese women, or those exposed to radiation,” Chiou said.
Lack of dietary fiber intake and exercise are also linked with an increased risk of colorectal cancer, Chiou said, while squamous cell carcinoma, oral and esophageal cancers are more common among individuals who regularly smoke and drink than those who do not.
Chiou said leading a healthy lifestyle and undergoing regular screening tests are the two most effective ways in warding off cancer.
“Most of the early-stage cancer cases diagnosed in 2012 were detected by screenings, including 90.6 percent for cervical cancer, 85.3 percent for breast cancer and 60.1 percent for colorectal cancer,” Chiou said. “Such patients tend to have a higher five-year survival rate, at nearly 70 percent, than those who discover cancer at advanced stages.”
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