Cancer is No 1 killer in Beijing for seventh year, says health report

Cancer remains the No 1 killer for Beijing residents for the seventh year in a row, with the rate of thyroid cancer rising the fastest, according to a report by the capital's health authority.

The report, by the Beijing Health and Family Planning Commission, also for the first time estimated "healthy life expectancy", and found people aged 18 had a little more than 40 years of full health left.

More than 40,000 Beijing permanent residents were diagnosed with cancer last year, according to Wang Ning, deputy director of the Beijing Cancer Control and Prevention Office. That translated into 110 new diagnoses a day last year, compared with an average of 63 cases a decade ago, Wang said.

Cancer accounted for 27 per cent of all deaths in the capital last year, the report said. The other leading killers were heart disease and cerebrovascular disease, with the three responsible for 74 per cent of deaths, it said.

The most prevalent form of cancer among men was lung cancer, followed by colorectal cancer and liver cancer.

The top concern for women was breast cancer, then lung cancer and colorectal cancer.

Lung cancer remains the most common - and deadliest - cancer in the world, with an estimated 1.8 million new cases and 1.59 million deaths in 2012.