BREAST cancer overtook stomach cancer to become the third-most deadly disease in Shenzhen last year, behind lung and liver cancers, according to statistics from the city’s health authorities.

Breast cancer, which was commonly seen among women aged between 45 to 50 in the past, is now increasing among women aged 30 to 40, according to statistics, released by the prevention center of chronic diseases Monday as part of a citywide campaign to increase public awareness about cancer.

The average age of Shenzhen breast cancer patients is five to 10 years younger than other mainland cities, said Fu Jianmin, director of the mastopathy department at Shenzhen Maternal and Children Hospital in Futian District.

Fu said the disease was more common among career women, who have to deal with great pressure and stress from both work and family life.

Many women in Shenzhen do not breast-feed their new-born babies because of tight work schedules and high pressure, and this is one of the main reasons behind the higher incidence of breast cancer in Shenzhen, said Fu.

The long-term intake of contraceptive pills, unhealthy diet and environmental pollution are also to blame, said Li Xianming, chief of the radiotherapy department of Shenzhen No. 1 People’s Hospital.

Li said it was worrying to see cancer patients getting younger and younger. Official figures showed that a total of 7,928 new cancer cases were recorded last year, up 18.1 percent compared to the number in 2006, and nearly 10,000 people die from various kinds of cancer each year in Shenzhen.

Lung and liver cancers have been the top two killers in Shenzhen in the past few years. (Wei Jie)