Chinese Journal of Cancer

Original Article

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma incidence and mortality in China in 2010

Kuang-Rong Wei1, Rong-Shou Zheng2, Si-Wei Zhang2, Zhi-Heng Liang1,
Zhi-Xiong Ou1 and Wan-Qing Chen2

Abstract

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is common in South China. Although regional epidemiological data

on NPC in China is available, national epidemiological data have been unavailable up to now. The goal
of this study was to analyze the NPC incidence and mortality data in some domestic cancer registries,
estimate these rates in China in 2010, and provide scientific information that can be harnessed for NPC
control and prevention. To accomplish this goal, NPC incidence and mortality data for 2010 were collected
from 145 Chinese cancer registries from which data were included in the 2013 National Cancer Registry
Annual Report. Such indices as its incident and death numbers, crude rates, age-standardized rates
and truncated rates were calculated and analyzed. The incidence and mortality in China and constituent
areas were estimated according to the national population in 2010. An estimated 41,503 new cases and
20,058 deaths were attributed to NPC in China in 2010, accounting for 1.34% of all new cancer cases and
1.03% of all cancer-related deaths that year in China. Crude incidence and mortality were 3.16/100,000
and 1.53/100,000, respectively. World age-standardized incidence and mortality were 2.44/100,000 and
1.18/100,000, respectively. Incidence and mortality were higher among males than among females and
slightly higher in urban areas than in rural areas. Among seven Chinese administrative regions, NPC
incidence and mortality were obviously higher in South China than in other regions and lowest in North
China. The male and female age-specific incidence and mortality both rose quickly from age 25-29 years,
but peaked at different ages and varied by location. These results demonstrated that NPC incidence and
mortality in China especially in South China were at high levels in the world, and suggested that control
and prevention efforts should be enhanced.
Key words Nasopharyngeal carcinoma, incidence, mortality, China

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a common malignancy in

South China[1,2]. More specifically, NPC incidence and mortality are
higher in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Jiangxi, and Fujian provinces
than in other regions in China[3-5]. In particular, the incidence in
Zhongshan City of Guangdong Province ranked first in the Cancer
Incidence in Five Continents, volumes 9[6] and 10[7], thus indicating
a significant health concern to the residents there. At present, there
is only regional NPC epidemiological data in China with no national
Authors Affiliations: 1Cancer Institute of Zhongshan Peoples Hospital,
Zhongshan, Guangdong 528403, P. R. China; 2National Center for
Cancer Registration, National Cancer Center, Beijing 100021, P. R.
China.
Corresponding Author: Wan-Qing Chen, National Center for Cancer
Registration, National Cancer Center, Beijing 100021, P. R. China. Tel:
+86-10-87787039; Fax: +86-10-87787039; Email: chenwq@cicams.
ac.cn.
doi: 10.5732/cjc.014.10086

www.cjcsysu.com

data. To fill this gap, we estimated NPC incidence and mortality in

China and its constituent areas in 2010 according to data from 145
domestic cancer registries and the national population in 2010.

Data and Methods

Data source
NPC incidence and mortality data in 2010 were collected from
145 domestic cancer registries with data quality that met the criteria
of National Center for Cancer Registration; namely, the percentage of
cases with morphological verification (MV%), >66%; the percentage
of cases with death certification only (DCO%), <15%; and ratio of
mortality to incidence (M/I), 0.60.8. The registries that reported
cancer data to National Center for Cancer Registration were divided
into four grades based on the criteria listed above. Grade A (52

CACA

Chinese Anti-Cancer Association 381

2010 NPC incidence and mortality in China

Kuang-Rong Wei et al.

registries) and grade B (73 registries) had high data quality; grade
C (20 registries) only included individual indices that did not meet
the criteria of grade B; and grade D registries had poor data quality.
Data from grade A, B, and C registries were included in the 2013
National Cancer Registry Annual Report, whereas data from grade
D registries were not. Of the 145 registries (grades A, B, and C)
included in this study, 63 were based in urban areas and 82 were
based in rural areas. These registries were distributed across 28
provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under
central government.
Population data was collected from the Statistical and/or Public
Security Bureaus of the aforementioned cancer registry areas.
The registries in this study covered a population of 158,403,248,
accounting for 11.79% of the total population in China at the end
of 2010. Of the population covered, 80,355,188 were males and
78,048,060 were females, and 92,433,739 (58.35%) came from
urban areas, whereas 65,969,509 (41.65%) came from rural areas[8].
Per the National Bureau of Statistics criteria, the areas covered
by the cancer registries in this study were classified as eastern,
middle, western areas and divided into seven administrative regions:
South China, North China, Central China, East China, Southwest
China, Northwest China, and Northeast China.

Statistical indices and methods

NPC data coded as C11 in the tenth version of the International

Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) were statistically analyzed in this

study using methods recommended by the Guideline for Chinese
Cancer Registration[9]. Statistical indices included incident and death
numbers, proportions, crude rates, age-standardized rates (ASRs),
cumulative rates, truncated rates (for ages 35 to 64 years), and agespecific rates. These indices were stratified by area, region, and
sex. The standard population of China in 2000 and of the world in
1960 (Segi) were used for calculating ASR China and ASR world,
respectively.
Age-specific estimates of new cases and deaths at each
stratum were obtained by multiplying the age-specific incidence and
mortality with the age-specific population at each stratum from the
2010 population census. The nationwide estimates of new cases and
deaths were obtained by pooling calculations[8].

Results
Data quality
Data quality varied by registry location (Table 1). The quality
of data from registries in urban areas was higher than that in rural
areas; although quality was similar for data from registries in middle
and eastern areas, it was lowest for data from registries in the
western area. Specific measures of MV%, DCO%, M/I, and UB%
(the proportion of diagnosis of unknown basis) of 2010 NPC data
were as follows: for all registries, 74.55%, 1.72%, 0.48, and 1.43%,

Table 1. Quality of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) data in 2010 from Chinese cancer registries
Area
All

Urban areas

Rural areas

Eastern area

Middle area

Western area

Sex

M/I

MV%

DCO%

UB%

Both sexes

0.48

74.55%

1.72%

1.43%

Male

0.49

74.82%

1.79%

1.46%

Female

0.46

73.90%

1.55%

1.36%

Both sexes

0.49

77.29%

1.85%

1.62%

Male

0.49

77.20%

1.91%

1.56%

Female

0.47

77.51%

1.69%

1.79%

Both sexes

0.46

69.70%

1.49%

1.09%

Male

0.48

70.46%

1.57%

1.28%

Female

0.44

67.93%

1.32%

0.66%

Both sexes

0.47

75.72%

1.41%

1.76%

Male

0.48

76.02%

1.49%

1.83%

Female

0.46

74.93%

1.22%

1.57%

Both sexes

0.47

75.86%

2.05%

0.22%

Male

0.49

75.82%

2.04%

0.16%

Female

0.43

75.95%

2.06%

0.34%

Both sexes

0.54

63.72%

3.43%

1.08%

Male

0.57

63.66%

3.71%

0.80%

Female

0.47

63.84%

2.82%

1.69%

M/I, the ratio of mortality to incidence; MV%, the percentage of cases morphologically verified; DOC%, the percentage of death certificate-only
cases; UB%, the proportion of diagnosis of unknown basis.

382 Chin J Cancer; 2014; Vol. 33 Issue 8

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2010 NPC incidence and mortality in China

Kuang-Rong Wei et al.

respectively; for urban registries, 77.29%, 1.85%, 0.49, and 1.62%,

respectively; and for rural registries, 69.70%, 1.49%, 0.46, and 1.09%,
respectively.

Incidence estimation

An estimated 41,503 new cases of NPC occurred in 2010,

accounting for 1.34% of all new cancer cases in China in that year.
The crude, ASR China, and ASR world incidences were 3.16/100,000,
2.60/100,000, and 2.44/100,000, respectively. An estimated 29,158
new NPC cases among males occurred in 2010, accounting for 0.96%
of all new cancer cases in males in China in 2010. The crude, ASR
China, and ASR world incidences among males were 4.33/100,000,
3.61/100,000, and 3.40/100,000, respectively. An estimated 12,345
new NPC cases among females occurred in 2010, accounting for
0.96% of all new cancer cases among females in China in 2010. The
crude, ASR China, and ASR world incidences among females were
1.92/100,000, 1.56/100,000, and 1.47/100,000, respectively. These
incidences aforementioned among males were higher than those
among females. The number of new cases among males in urban,
rural, and both areas was 2.51 times, 2.22 times, and 2.36 times,
respectively, greater than those among females (Table 2).

Age-specific incidence
Age-specific incidence rose quickly from age 2529 years,

peaked at age 6064 years, thereafter decreased markedly for

males and gradually for females. Age-specific incidence was higher
among males than among females and varied by area (Figure 1). In
the western area, it peaked at age 85+ for both males and females,
whereas at age 7074 in males in the middle area. After peaking, the
age-specific incidence declined sharply for both males and females in
the eastern area and for females in the middle area.

Incidence difference between regions

An estimated 21,593 new cases of NPC occurred in urban
areas in 2010, accounting for 1.27% of all new cancer cases in urban
areas that year. The crude, ASR China, and ASR world incidences
in urban areas were 3.25/100,000, 2.63/100,000, and 2.46/100,000,
respectively. In rural areas, An estimated 19,964 new NPC cases
occurred, accounting for 1.43% of all new cancer cases in rural
areas in 2010. The crude, ASR China, and ASR world incidences
in rural areas were 3.06/100,000, 2.59/100,000, and 2.45/100,000,
respectively (Table 2). NPC incidence was only slightly higher in
urban areas than in rural areas; the crude, ASR China, and ASR
world incidences in urban areas were 1.06 times, 1.02 times, and 1.00
times, respectively, higher than the rates for rural areas.
NPC incidence was highest in the western area, less high in
the eastern area, and lowest in the middle area in 2010. However,
for urban areas specifically, incidence was highest in the eastern
area, less high in the western area, and lowest in the middle area.

Table 2. NPC incidence in China in 2010

Area

All

Urban areas

Sex

CR
(1/105)

Prop
(%)

ASR-C
(1/105)

ASR-W
(1/105)

Cum rate
0-74 (%)

TASR
(1/105)

Rank

Both

41,503

3.16

1.34

2.60

2.44

0.27

5.55

18

Male

29,158

4.33

1.61

3.61

3.40

0.37

7.78

13

Female

12,345

1.92

0.96

1.56

1.47

0.16

3.24

18

Both

21,539

3.25

1.27

2.63

2.46

0.27

5.55

19

Male

15,398

4.54

1.58

3.70

3.47

0.37

7.96

13

6,141

1.90

0.85

1.53

1.42

0.16

3.06

19

Female
Rural areas

Total
(cases)

Both

19,964

3.06

1.43

2.59

2.45

0.27

5.58

15

Male

13,760

4.12

1.65

3.53

3.34

0.37

7.63

10

6,204

1.95

1.11

1.62

1.55

0.17

3.45

16

Eastern area Both

Female

18,512

3.37

1.44

2.78

2.57

0.27

6.02

18

Male

13,393

4.76

1.84

3.96

3.68

0.39

8.67

13

5,119

1.91

0.92

1.56

1.43

0.15

3.27

18

10,840

2.57

1.08

2.08

1.98

0.23

4.57

19

Female
Middle area

Both
Male

7,518

3.49

1.29

2.85

2.74

0.31

6.27

13

Female

3,322

1.61

0.78

1.30

1.23

0.14

2.82

20

Western area Both

12,151

3.55

1.52

2.97

2.83

0.31

6.08

16

Male

8,247

4.69

1.66

3.99

3.77

0.41

8.27

12

Female

3,904

2.34

1.28

1.91

1.85

0.21

3.78

16

CR, crude rate; Prop, proportion; ASR-C, age-standardized rate by Chinese standard population; ASR-W, age-standardized rate by Segis world
standard population; Cum rate, cumulative rate; TASR, truncated age-standardized rate.

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Chin J Cancer; 2014; Vol. 33 Issue 8 383

2010 NPC incidence and mortality in China

Kuang-Rong Wei et al.

Generally, NPC incidence were not significantly different between

the three aforementioned areas, especially between the eastern
and western areas (Table 2). NPC incidence ranked from highest
to lowest among the seven administrative regions as follows: South
China, Southwest China, Central China, East China, Northwest
China, Northeast China, and North China. Notably, the incidence
in South China was 3 times higher than that in Southwest China, in

14

Age-specific incidence (1/100,000)

12

All males

All females

Urban males

Urban females

Rural males

Rural females

which the incidence was the second highest.

Mortality estimation
In 2010, there were an estimated 20,058 deaths caused by
NPC, accounting for 1.03% of all cancer deaths in China that year.
The crude , ASR China, and ASR world mortalities were 1.53/100,000,

Figure 1. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma

10

(NPC) age-specific incidence in China in

2010. NPC age-specific incidence rose
quickly from age 25-29 years, peaked at
age 60-64 years, thereafter decreased
obviously for males and began to decrease
for females. Male rates are obviously higher
than the rates of female. The age-specific
incidence varied in areas.

8
6
4
2
0
0- 1-

5- 10- 15- 20- 25- 30- 35- 40- 45- 50- 55- 60- 65- 70- 75- 80- 85+
Age (years)

Table 3. NPC mortality in China in 2010

Area

All

Sex

Rural areas

Prop
(%)

ASR-C
(1/105)

ASR-W
(1/105)

Cum rate
0-74 (%)

TASR
(1/105)

Rank

Both

20,058

1.53

1.03

1.20

1.18

0.14

2.39

17

14,536

2.16

1.16

1.74

1.71

0.20

3.59

12

Both

5,522

0.86

0.79

0.65

0.65

0.07

1.15

18

10,867

1.64

1.05

1.22

1.20

0.14

2.46

18

Male

7,962

2.35

1.22

1.79

1.76

0.21

3.74

14

Female

2,905

0.90

0.76

0.64

0.63

0.07

1.13

18

Both

9,191

1.41

1.00

1.18

1.17

0.13

2.32

16

Male

6,574

1.97

1.09

1.69

1.67

0.19

3.45

10

Female
Eastern area Both

Middle area

CR
(1/105)

Male
Female
Urban areas

Total
(cases)

2,617

0.82

0.82

0.67

0.66

0.07

1.17

16

8,311

1.51

1.02

1.18

1.15

0.13

2.28

17

Male

6,073

2.16

1.18

1.72

1.69

0.19

3.42

13

Female

2,238

0.83

0.74

0.62

0.61

0.07

1.10

18

Both

5,096

1.21

0.83

0.94

0.93

0.11

1.92

19

Male

3,676

1.71

0.93

1.37

1.35

0.16

2.88

13

Female
Western area Both

1,420

0.69

0.64

0.51

0.51

0.05

0.93

18

6,651

1.94

1.27

1.55

1.54

0.18

3.16

15

Male

4,787

2.72

1.39

2.21

2.19

0.26

4.75

10

Female

1,864

1.12

1.04

0.87

0.86

0.10

1.50

15

Abbreviations as in Table 2.

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Kuang-Rong Wei et al.

1.20/100,000, and 1.18/100,000, respectively. An estimated 14,536

males died of NPC, accounting for 1.16% of all cancer deaths
among males in 2010 in China. The crude, ASR China, and ASR
world mortalities among males were 2.16/100,000, 1.74/100,000,
and 1.71/100,000, respectively. NPC also led to the death of an
estimated 5,522 females, accounting for 0.79% of all cancer deaths
among females in 2010 in China. The crude, ASR China, and ASR
world mortalities among females were 0.86/100,000, 0.65/100,000,
and 0.65/100,000, respectively. Mortality was higher among males
than among females; the number of deaths among males in urban,
rural, and both areas were 2.74 times, 2.51 times, and 2.63 times,
respectively, greater than that among females in those areas (Table 3).

Age-specific mortality
Male and female age-specific mortalities for NPC in China in
2010 began to rise quickly from age 3034 years, peaked at age
8084 years, and decreased thereafter for males but peaked at age
85+ for females. Age-specific mortality was notably higher among
males than among females but was similar in older age groups (Figure
2). These mortalities varied by area. In rural areas, the age-specific
mortality peaked at age 7579 years. In eastern and middle areas,
the peak was at age 85+, and in the western area, the peak was at
age 6064 years for males and age 8084 years for females.

Mortality differences between regions

There were an estimated 10,867 deaths linked to NPC in urban
areas in 2010, accounting for 1.05% of all cancer deaths in Chinese
urban areas that year. The crude, ASR China, and ASR world
mortalities in urban areas were 1.64/100,000, 1.22/100,000, and
1.20/100,000, respectively. In rural areas, there were an estimated
9,191 deaths linked to NPC, accounting for 1.00% of all cancer

deaths in Chinese rural areas in 2010. The crude, ASR China, and
ASR world mortalities in rural areas were 1.41/100,000, 1.18/100,000,
and 1.17/100,000, respectively (Table 3). The mortalities in urban
areas and rural areas were similar, with the former only slightly higher
than the latter. The crude, ASR China, and ASR world mortalities
were 1.16 times, 1.03 times, and 1.03 times, respectively, higher in
urban areas than in rural areas.
The geographic distribution of deaths linked to NPC in China
in 2010 was basically consistent with its incidence. More specifically,
the western area had the highest mortality, followed by the eastern
area, and the middle area had the lowest. However, for urban areas,
the mortality was highest in the eastern area, less high in the western
area, and lowest in the middle area. Generally, there were no large
differences between the mortalities of the eastern, western, and
middle areas. Mortality ranked from highest to lowest among the
seven administrative regions as follows: South China, Southwest
China, Central China, East China, Northwest China, Northeast China,
and North China. Notably, as with its incidence, NPC mortality was
3 times higher in South China than in Southwest China, in which the
mortality was the second highest. For males in urban areas, mortality
was slightly higher in Central and East China than in Southwest
China.

Discussions
According to GLOBOCAN 2012, the estimated ASR world for NPC
incidence among males and females in 2012 were 1.7/100,000 and
0.7/100,000, respectively. The areas with the highest incidence were
Southeast Asia (6.4/100,000 for males and 2.4/100,000 for females),
Micronesia (3.3/100,000 and 2.0/100,000), East Asia (2.5/100,000
and 1.0/100,000), North Africa (2.3/100,000 and 1.0/100,000),
and East Africa (1.9/100,000 and 1.1/100,000). The countries with
the highest incidence were Malaysia (10.6/100,000 for males and

12

Age-specific incidence (1/100,000)

10

All males

All females

Urban males

Urban females

Rural males

Rural females

China in 2010. All male and female NPC

age-specific mortalities in China in 2010
rose quickly from age 30-34 years, peaked
at age 80-84 years and down thereafter for
males, but peaked at age 85+ for females.
Male rates are obviously higher than the
rates of females, but close to each other in
old age groups. The age-specific death rates
varied in areas, peaked at age 75-79 years
in rural areas.

6
4
2
0

Figure 2. NPC age-specific mortality in

0- 1-

5- 10- 15- 20- 25- 30- 35- 40- 45- 50- 55- 60- 65- 70- 75- 80- 85+
Age (years)

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Kuang-Rong Wei et al.

3.9/100,000 for females), Singapore (9.7/100,000 and 3.2/100,000),

Indonesia (8.3/100,000 and 3.0/100,000), Vietnam (7.7/100,000
and 3.4/100,000), and Brunei (7.6/100,000 and 1.5/100,000). In
2012, ASR world for NPC mortality among males and females
were 1.0/100,000 and 0.4/100,000, respectively. The areas with the
highest mortality were Southeast Asia (3.8/100,000 for males and
1.4/100,000 for females), East Asia (1.5/100,000 and 0.6/100,000),
East Africa (1.4/100,000 and 0.9/100,000), North Africa (1.4/100,000
and 0.6/100,000), and Micronesia (1.3/100,000 and 1.0/100,000).
The countries with the highest mortality were Indonesia (5.0/100,000
and 1.6/100,000), Vietnam (4.8/100,000 and 2.0/100,000),
Singapore (4.4/100,000 and 1.3/100,000), Malaysia (3.9/100,000
and 1.2/100,000), and Brunei (3.4/100,000 and 0.5/100,000) [10].
Compared with GLOBOCAN 2012 data, the current study showed
that NPC incidence and mortality were lower in China in 2010 than
in Southeast Asia in 2012, but significantly higher than in the world,
higher than in East Asia and in China estimated by GLOBOCAN
2012. NPC incidence among males and females in China in 2010
ranked 9th and 10th in the world, respectively, and were similar to
the incidence in Burma and Tunis according to GLOBOCAN 2012.
Likewise, NPC mortality among males and females in China in
2010 ranked 13th and 14th in the world, respectively, according to
GLOBOCAN 2012, and similar to NPC mortality in the Philippines
and Tunis. These results indicated that the 2010 NPC incidence
and mortality in China were at high levels in the world. Furthermore,
the results of our study were also similar to the results of the third
national all-death-causes survey in China and 2009 Chinese Cancer
Registry Annual Report[3,11], indicating that cancer registering data in
China were consistent with the data of the third national all-deathcauses survey.
In the current study, NPC incidence and mortality were markedly
higher in South China than in other Chinese regions. Indeed, the
rates in South China were 3 times higher than those in the region with
the second highest rates. By contrast, the incidence and mortality
in North China were the lowest. These findings were consistent
with previous reports[1-4,10-15]. According to Cancer Incidence in Five
Continents, volume 10[7], top three registries with the highest NPC
incidence were all located in South China: namely Zhongshan City
of Guangdong Province, Macao, and Hong Kong. The incidence and
mortality in Sihui City of Guangdong Province were even higher than
those in Zhongshan[3]. Moreover, the NPC incidences in Guangzhou
City of Guangdong Province, Liuzhou City, Cangwu County, Wuzhou
City, and Fusui County of Guangxi Province, Xiamen City of Fujian
Province, Chengdu City of Sichuan Province, and Ganzhou City of
Jiangxi Province were also relatively high[3,4].
Although our study showed that NPC incidence and mortality
were highest in the western area, less high in the eastern area, and
lowest in the middle area, there were no large differences in the
rates among them. The reasons might be that the areas with high
NPC incidence before were assigned into different areas according
to the criteria of National Statistic Bureau. For example, Guangdong
Province and Fujian Province were assigned into the eastern area,
Guangxi Province into the western area, and Jiangxi Province and
Hunan Province into the middle area. NPC geographic distribution

386 Chin J Cancer; 2014; Vol. 33 Issue 8

2010 NPC incidence and mortality in China

features could be better described through stratification into seven

administrative regions rather than three areas[1]. The results of the
third national all-death-causes survey in China showed that mortality
was highest in the eastern area, less high in the western area, and
lowest in the middle area, in contrast to our results. This difference
might be due to the different geographic distribution of sampling
places in the studies[1,12].
The present study revealed that NPC incidence and mortality
varied according to geography, sex, and age. However, there was no
substantial difference between urban and rural areas. The underlying
reason may be related to the factors of NPC incidence and mortality,
which are associated with genetics, Epstein-Barr virus infection,
environment, diet, smoking, occupation, and so on[1]. NPC mortality
is also associated with local health, economy, culture, and other
factors[5]. Thus, NPC incidence and mortality were similar in urban
and rural areas, suggesting that there were no marked differences in
factors linked to NPC incidence and mortality in these areas.
We determined that NPC incidence and mortality were
significantly higher for males than for females, which was consistent
with previous reports[1-7,10-14]. Generally, the age-specific incidence and
mortality were also consistent with the previous reports[1,3,10,12,13,15,16].
However, the age-specific incidence and mortality peaked at different
ages, depending on the region. For example, the peak age of death
in Zhongshan City of Guangdong Province in 19702010 [5] and
Guangxi Province in 20042005[14] were at age 5559 years.
In this study, the MV% of NPC data was higher than that of
all cancer data (67.11%) and the DCO% was lower than that of all
cancer data in 145 cancer registries in 2010 (2.99%)[8]. However,
the MV% in China in 2010 was slightly lower than that of NPC data
in 2012 Chinese Cancer Registry Annual Report (76.14%)[3] and
20032007 Cancer Incidence and Mortality in China (79.14%) [10],
significantly lower than that of NPC data in Cancer Incidence in Five
Continents, volume 9 (96.28%)[6], and that of oral and throat cancers
(coded as C00-14 in ICD10) in volume 10[7]. This suggested that NPC
data quality in this study, especially for rural registries, should be
improved.
Generally, although NPC data quality in this study should be
improved, the results of this study showed that NPC incidence and
mortality in 2010 in China, especially in South China, were high
relative to worldwide levels, and these findings were consistent
with previous reports[1-4,10-15]. NPC incidence and mortality reported
here are similar to the results of the third national all-death-causes
survey in China and 2009 Chinese Cancer Registry Annual Report,
indicating that the data from cancer registration was consistent with
the data of the third national all-death-causes survey[3,12]. Similarly,
NPC incidence and mortality varied by geography, sex, and age,
consistent with previous reports[1-7,10-16]. However, the mortalities in
eastern, middle, and western areas in this study differed from those
of the third national all-death-causes survey, possibly because of
different sampling places[12]. Otherwise, stratification by the seven
administration regions rather than by three areas could better
describe NPC geographic distribution features.
Received: 2014-06-10; accepted: 2014-07-24.

Chinese Journal of Cancer

Kuang-Rong Wei et al.

2010 NPC incidence and mortality in China

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