Drug researchers under increasing pressure

The rising number of new cancer cases and deaths in China during the past decade is placing a greater burden on medical researchers.

The latest statistics released by the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences show that in 2015 there were 4.29 million new cancer cases, accounting for 20 percent of the global total.

In the same year, 2.81 million people in China died from the disease. Lung cancer was the most common cause of death, followed in order by cancers of the stomach, esophagus and liver, according to the academy.