Taipei Times
Date: Dec 07, 2015
By Kelly Tang / Staff reporter

New Taipei City had the highest growth rate of lung cancer cases in the nation between 2006 and 2011, as well as the highest female lung cancer incidence rate and growth rate, with Taipei coming second in terms of the lung cancer growth rate among women, which doctors said is associated with urban air pollution.

Changhua Medical Alliance standing director and rehabilitation physician Lee Wu-po (李武波) said that according to Health Promotion Administration statistics, lung cancer has been the leading cause of cancer deaths in Taiwan for five consecutive years, and among the 9,167 people who died of lung cancer last year, 5,893 were men and 3,274 were women.

Taiwan’s population has increased by 28 percent over the past 30 years, but the growth rate of lung cancer cases is 131 percent, almost five times more than the population growth rate, Lee said.

According to the latest data released by the administration, New Taipei City led the nation in the growth of lung cancer cases from 2006 to 2011, with a 16 percent growth rate — almost twice the nation’s average growth rate at 9 percent — while the number of the city’s residents developing lung cancer increased from 34 to 39 per 100,000 people every year, Lee said.     [FULL  STORY]