OBJECTIVETo analyze the changes of male/female and urban/rural incidences and average age of cancer diagnosis over the period 1989-2008 in China.

METHODSAll cancer incident cases from 1989 to 2008 in registration areas were retrieved from the National Central Cancer Registry database. Data were stratified by sex (male/female) and area (urban/rural) and age group (19 age groups, including 0, 1-4, 5-9, 5-84 by 5, ≥ 85). Poisson regression was used to analyze the differences in incidence rates between males and females, urban and rural areas with 95% confident intervals and P values adjusted by age. The average age of cancer diagnosis was calculated every year. All trends were analyzed by linear regression.

RESULTSThe ratio of male to female cancer incidences was 1.56 in 1989 and 1.35 in 2008. The ratio of urban to rural incidences was 0.89 in 1998 and increased to 0.98 in 2008. The average age of cancer diagnosis was 61.96 years old for men and 60.15 for women in 1989, compared with 64.87 and 61.81 years in 2008, respectively. The disparities in sex and areas have been decreasing in recent 20 years. The cancer patients tend to getting older. These trends were all significant.

CONCLUSIONSThe cancer incidences in male/female populations and different areas have apparent disparities over the 1989-2008 period in China. However, the differences are narrowing and the average age is increasing. In the making of an efficient anti-cancer strategy, we should also take consideration of the differences of cancer burden in different population groups in our country.