Breast cancer on the rise in China

Celebrity actresses like Christy Chung pose for Trends Health magazine covers, as part of the Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer Prevention Campaign. Provided to China Daily

According to the GE report, 27 percent of Chinese women over the age of 40 living in urban areas undergo mammograms once every two years. In the US, 50 percent of women in the same age bracket receive a mammogram annually.

"It is of great concern that women in newly industrialized countries are reluctant to get checked out until it is too late," says Claire Goodliffe, global oncology director at GE Healthcare.

"This is why GE is working with a number of governments and health ministries in these regions to expand access to screening and improve consumer awareness. Some of these initiatives are making excellent progress."

While China currently has the lowest age-adjusted incidence of the countries in question, the family planning policy and other lifestyle changes due to rapid economic growth will potentially have enormous long-term effects on breast-cancer rates, GE says.

Rates among middle-aged women in Chinese urban areas have already increased 20 to 30 percent over the last decade, according to the study.

Dr Ben Anderson, who authored a 2011 report on breast cancer rates worldwide in The Lancet Oncology, predicted that incidence and mortality from the disease would increase by 50 percent before 2020, with the highest rates in developing countries.

Efforts to combat the disease require tailored treatment in developing countries, rather than a "one-size-fits-all approach", he says.

In 2011, GE committed $1 billion to a five-year campaign against breast cancer, expanding cancer diagnostic and molecular-imaging capabilities, developing biopharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities and various educational programs in the areas of healthy living and early detection and prevention efforts.

Chaoyang Park turns into a world of pink balloons as thousands of Beijing residents participate in an event to promote awareness of breast cancer on Mother's Day in 2011. Jiang Dong / China Daily

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