Cancer experts aim to install uniform treatment plan

Chinese experts are trying to implement uniform diagnosis and treatment protocols for cancer across the country to increase the life span of patients and narrow the urban-rural gap in the way the disease is handled.

The five-year survival rate among cancer patients in China has increased to 40.5 percent from 30 percent 10 years ago, Liu Zhihua, a professor at the National Cancer Center and Cancer Hospital under the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, said at a conference organized by the NCC, Cancer Foundation of China and other institutions.

Despite the improved survival rate, cancer patients in China still don't live as long as those in the United States and some European countries as the country's rate of early diagnosis is relatively low, Liu added.