BEIJING - The country has seen a huge jump in pancreatic cancers - deemed the king of malignant tumors - medical experts warned following the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs from the disease.

"For example, 100 new cases emerged in Shanghai each year in the 1980s, but the figure jumped to 500 in the 2010s," said Li Dinggang, director of the oncology department of Beijing Haidian Hospital.

Doctors said although the incidence is lower than some other cancers, including lung cancer and breast cancer, it carries a high death rate and leaves patients a short life ahead.

"In China, fewer than 8 percent of sufferers survive more than one year, and fewer than 5 percent survive five years," Li said.

Latest statistics from the World Health Organization showed the incidence of the cancer in China was 5 out of 100,000 people in 2005. That number has surged over the past decades.

One important reason for the disease being almost incurable is that 80 percent of the cases are found at an advanced stage, which is too late for surgery - potentially the only effective method.

"Radiotherapy and chemotherapy turn out to be no help in prolonging the life of a patient with pancreatic cancer. Some new medicines have been developed and put into use recently, but none has proven desirable," said Hao Chunyi, a pancreatic disease expert at Peking University Cancer Hospital.

The particular anatomical structure makes the disease more fatal.

"The pancreas hides in the back of the stomach, so it is hard to achieve early detection, which is significant to early diagnosis and treatment," Li said. "Most patients have their stomachs inspected when feeling discomfort at first, and it is late for a cure when the pain expands."

Experts all agree that the outburst of the illness is highly related to the level of economic development of a certain region, and the modern lifestyle is the main culprit.

An unhealthy diet brings a heavy burden and damage to the pancreas, which is responsible for digesting fat, protein and sugar, experts say.

"I believe at least one in three of the patients are high-level white-collar workers, because they are more involved in socials and dinner parties," Li said.

"White-collar workers stay in front of computers for hours every day. Micro-environmental pollution and fatigue make them more prone to low immunity," said Wang Yuehua, deputy chief physician of general surgery department of Beijing-based Xuanwu Hospital of the Capital Medical University.