Nation faces challenge from cancer

But mortality rates in China have dropped by about 21 percent annually for both men and women since 2006, according to the report. However, total cancer deaths increased by 74 percent during the same period, the report said.

Regionally, the highest death rate from cancer was recorded in Southwest China, followed by North China.

Chen said the survival rate is much lower in China compared with Western countries, citing a poor early detection rate domestically.

In China, 29 percent of cancer deaths were related to chronic infections such as Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium usually found in the stomach, hepatitis B infections that caused liver cancer, and the human papillomavirus that caused cervical cancer, the report said.

Chen said the more people the registry could cover, the more accurately the spread of cancer could be understood.

"That will help the authorities to design evidence-based and more-targeted intervention programs," he said.

The registry is expected to include 40 percent of China's population of 1.36 billion by 2020.