BEIJING – Latest official data from China’s National Cancer Center confirms meaningful public health progress: the country has recorded consistent drops in the incidence and mortality rates of multiple prevalent cancers, while the overall five-year survival rate for people living with cancer has climbed steadily in recent years.
The figures, unveiled Friday during China’s annual national cancer prevention awareness campaign (held this year from April 15 to 21), show esophageal cancer incidence and mortality falling by roughly 4.5% year-over-year on average. Annual average declines of around 2% have also been registered in death rates for both lung cancer and nasopharyngeal cancer, according to the updated data.
“China has achieved steady progress in cancer prevention and control, bringing more confidence and hope to patients and their families,” noted He Jie, director of the National Cancer Center. He added that China’s overall national cancer incidence now aligns with the global average.
These encouraging outcomes follow a multi-pronged, prevention-first strategy China has rolled out over the past several years to strengthen the country’s anti-cancer defenses. Global research confirms that more than 40% of all cancer cases can be avoided through effective primary prevention, which centers on adopting healthier daily habits and limiting exposure to known carcinogens – a focus that has been central to China’s public health strategy.
In 2023, Chinese health authorities released official guidelines for the high-quality development of national cancer prevention and control. The policy document prioritizes raising public cancer awareness and reducing modifiable cancer risk factors, and sets a national target to reach an 80% public awareness rate for core cancer prevention knowledge by 2030.
To advance this target, China’s National Health Commission (NHC) recently released a set of 15 simple, actionable recommendations for a cancer-conscious healthy lifestyle. The guide has earned the nickname “the national cancer prevention manual” among Chinese social media users for its accessible, practical advice.
Beyond public education, China has built out a extensive multi-tiered cancer prevention and monitoring network that expands access to early cancer screening across the country. Today, cancer registry sites cover 98.6% of all counties and districts nationwide. Screening programs for cervical and breast cancer – two of the most common cancers affecting women globally – now reach 98% of Chinese county-level administrative regions, and the early diagnosis rate for major cancers in priority regions has surpassed 55%.
Wider access to early screening directly enables earlier intervention, which creates a clear path to better long-term outcomes for people with malignant tumors, explained Liu Jixian, head of the Department of Thoracic Surgery at Peking University Shenzhen Hospital. He noted that most patients diagnosed with early-stage cancer can achieve clinical cure through modern, diversified, comprehensive treatment protocols.
Innovation in diagnostic and treatment technologies has also been a key driver of progress in China’s fight against cancer. A domestic-developed CAR-T therapy, for example, is set to open new treatment pathways for people living with advanced gastric cancer – a disease with high prevalence in China and limited effective options for patients who do not respond to standard second-line treatments.
According to Zhang Jingdong, deputy director of Liaoning Cancer Hospital and Institute, the therapy marks a major targeted breakthrough for this patient population. This homegrown therapy is just one example of the rapidly growing innovation capacity of China’s pharmaceutical sector: China currently accounts for roughly one-third of all innovative cancer and general drugs in development worldwide, and outbound licensing deals for Chinese innovative drugs exceeded $130 billion in 2025 alone.
The pace of innovative drug development in China continues to accelerate. Data from the National Medical Products Administration shows that 14 new innovative drugs have already received market approval in 2026, the majority of which are indicated for cancer treatment.
Alongside breakthroughs in pharmaceutical development, artificial intelligence is playing an expanding role in catching cancer at its earliest, most treatable stages. DAMO PANDA, an AI diagnostic system developed by Alibaba’s DAMO Academy, has delivered promising results in early detection of pancreatic cancer – one of the deadliest forms of the disease, with very low early diagnosis rates historically. The technology is already deployed in both large urban hospitals and remote, underserved regions of China.
Looking ahead, NHC official Liu Wen pledged continued expanded support for scientific research into key challenges in cancer prevention and control, to speed the development of new life-saving technologies and therapies. Liu added that further integration of digital and smart health technologies will help break down longstanding regional barriers to care, ensuring more standardized and equitable cancer treatment access across all parts of China.