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How much cancer treatment happens in China

China publishes authoritative national figures for new cancer cases and for organ transplantation. It does not publish national surgical volume by cancer type. This page shows what is officially documented — and marks clearly what is not.

Data as of 2022 (incidence) / 2025 (transplants, radiotherapy equipment) · 6 sources · 4 items recorded as missing

New cancer cases (2022)

New cases by cancer type (2022)Lung cancer: 1,060,600; Colorectal cancer: 517,100; Thyroid cancer: 466,100; Liver cancer: 367,700; Gastric cancer: 358,700; Breast cancer (female): 357,200; Esophageal cancer: 224,000; Cervical cancer: 150,700; Prostate cancer: 134,200; Nasopharyngeal cancer: 51,000Lung cancer1,060,600Colorectal cancer517,100Thyroid cancer466,100Liver cancer367,700Gastric cancer358,700Breast cancer (female)357,200Esophageal cancer224,000Cervical cancer150,700Prostate cancer134,200Nasopharyngeal cancer51,000
New cases by cancer type (2022)
Metric Value Year or as-of Caliber Level Source
Lung cancer 1,060,600 2022 National Cancer Center / IARC joint estimate (Cancer incidence and mortality in China, 2022); crude rate 75.13 per 100,000 Level A https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11256708/
Colorectal cancer 517,100 2022 Same JNCC 2022 release; crude rate 36.63 per 100,000 Level A https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11256708/
Thyroid cancer 466,100 2022 Same JNCC 2022 release; crude rate 33.02 per 100,000 Level A https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11256708/
Liver cancer 367,700 2022 Same JNCC 2022 release (C22; intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma sub-classification not separated); crude rate 26.04 per 100,000 Level A https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11256708/
Gastric cancer 358,700 2022 Same JNCC 2022 release; crude rate 25.41 per 100,000 Level A https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11256708/
Breast cancer (female) 357,200 2022 Same JNCC 2022 release; female breast cancer only (male breast cancer excluded); crude rate 51.71 per 100,000 Level A https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11256708/
Esophageal cancer 224,000 2022 Same JNCC 2022 release; crude rate 15.87 per 100,000 Level A https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11256708/
Cervical cancer 150,700 2022 Same JNCC 2022 release; crude rate 21.81 per 100,000 Level A https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11256708/
Prostate cancer 134,200 2022 Same JNCC 2022 release; crude rate 18.61 per 100,000 Level A https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11256708/
Nasopharyngeal cancer 51,000 2022 Same JNCC 2022 release; crude rate 3.61 per 100,000 Level A https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11256708/
All cancers combined (comparison) 4,824,700 2022 JNCC 2022 all-sites total (all malignancies); crude rate 341.75 per 100,000 Level A https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11256708/
10 tracked cancers, combined 3,687,300 2022 Not an official figure: this is the sum of the ten cancer types listed above (76.4% of all malignancies), added by this site from the 2022 National Cancer Center per-cancer figures. Level A https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11256708/
Chinese-language release of the same 2022 figures (Peking University Cancer Hospital) — 2024 Official re-publication of the National Cancer Center release, usable as the Chinese-language source Level A https://www.bjcancer.org.cn/Html/News/Articles/19120.html
Nasopharyngeal cancer 2025 review (cross-check only) 51,000 2025 Industry media citing the same National Cancer Center figure (5.1万) — cross-check only, not a primary source Level B https://www.cmtopdr.com/post/detail/d039ad02-6bcd-4ad5-958b-b7a2e65886a3

Organ transplantation

Hospitals licensed per organ (2025)Licensed for kidney transplantation: 148; Licensed for liver transplantation: 122; Licensed for heart transplantation: 76; Licensed for lung transplantation: 60; Licensed for pancreas transplantation: 50; Licensed for intestinal transplantation: 45Licensed for kidney transplantation148Licensed for liver transplantation122Licensed for heart transplantation76Licensed for lung transplantation60Licensed for pancreas transplantation50Licensed for intestinal transplantation45
Hospitals licensed per organ (2025)
Metric Value Year or as-of Caliber Level Source
Organ transplants performed nationwide 25,000+ 2025 Annual figure from The China Organ Donation and Transplantation Development Report (2025) as quoted by ScienceNet; +4.5% year on year. Level B — the report itself is not freely downloadable. Level B https://news.sciencenet.cn/htmlnews/2026/9/571090.shtm
Deceased organ donors 6,931 2025 Same annual report as above (B); +2.8% year on year Level B https://news.sciencenet.cn/htmlnews/2026/9/571090.shtm
Organ transplants, 2015–2025 cumulative 220,000+ 2015–2025 Cumulative ten-year figure from the same annual report (B) Level B https://news.sciencenet.cn/htmlnews/2026/9/571090.shtm
Organ transplants, Jan–Nov 2025 (interim) 23,285 2025 (Jan–Nov) Interim official figure carried by Health News (newspaper supervised by the NHC); +3.3% year on year Level A https://www.jkb.com.cn/news/depth/2025/1216/507824.html
Cumulative deceased donors / major organs (to Nov 2025) 62,000+ donors / 191,000 organs to 2025-11 Official cumulative figures carried by Health News Level A https://www.jkb.com.cn/news/depth/2025/1216/507824.html
Hospitals licensed for organ transplantation 187 2025 Figure attributed to the NHC Department of Medical Emergency Response; licensed to perform transplants — NOT verified as accepting international patients Level A https://www.jkb.com.cn/news/depth/2025/1216/507824.html
Licensed for kidney transplantation 148 2025 Same source; licence count, not activity volume Level A https://www.jkb.com.cn/news/depth/2025/1216/507824.html
Licensed for liver transplantation 122 2025 Same source; licence count. Liver transplantation is NOT a proxy for liver-cancer surgery volume. Level A https://www.jkb.com.cn/news/depth/2025/1216/507824.html
Licensed for heart transplantation 76 2025 Same source; licence count Level A https://www.jkb.com.cn/news/depth/2025/1216/507824.html
Licensed for lung transplantation 60 2025 Same source; licence count Level A https://www.jkb.com.cn/news/depth/2025/1216/507824.html
Licensed for pancreas transplantation 50 2025 Same source; licence count Level A https://www.jkb.com.cn/news/depth/2025/1216/507824.html
Licensed for intestinal transplantation 45 2025 Same source; licence count Level A https://www.jkb.com.cn/news/depth/2025/1216/507824.html

Radiotherapy capacity

Equipment and facilities, as of 2025-12-31Radiotherapy facilities nationwide: 2,119; Radiotherapy machines nationwide: 3,390; Medical linear accelerators: 3,104; TOMO helical tomotherapy systems: 163; CyberKnife systems: 63; MR-Linac systems: 17Radiotherapy facilities nationwide2,119Radiotherapy machines nationwide3,390Medical linear accelerators3,104TOMO helical tomotherapy systems163CyberKnife systems63MR-Linac systems17
Equipment and facilities, as of 2025-12-31
Metric Value Year or as-of Caliber Level Source
Radiotherapy facilities nationwide 2,119 as of 2025-12-31 Industry-society survey (not a government release); some provinces still use the 2022 edition — national total is a mixed-vintage figure Level B https://bird.ns.org.cn/html/report/26090004-1.htm
Radiotherapy machines nationwide 3,390 as of 2025-12-31 Same society survey (B); mixed-vintage provincial data Level B https://bird.ns.org.cn/html/report/26090004-1.htm
Medical linear accelerators 3,104 as of 2025-12-31 Same society survey (B) Level B https://bird.ns.org.cn/html/report/26090004-1.htm
TOMO helical tomotherapy systems 163 as of 2025-12-31 Same society survey (level B). TOMO is managed at provincial level, so there is no national government list: this is an industry survey figure, not an official national total. Level B https://bird.ns.org.cn/html/report/26090004-1.htm
CyberKnife systems 63 as of 2025-12-31 Same society survey (B) Level B https://bird.ns.org.cn/html/report/26090004-1.htm
MR-Linac systems 17 as of 2025-12-31 Same society survey (B) Level B https://bird.ns.org.cn/html/report/26090004-1.htm
Proton / heavy-ion systems installed (equipment count) 22 as of 2025-12-31 Equipment count (level B, society survey). This is a different measure from the 42 hospitals that hold configuration licences for proton or heavy-ion systems — the two figures are not interchangeable. Level B https://bird.ns.org.cn/html/report/26090004-1.htm
Linear accelerators per million people 2.40 as of 2025-12-31 Same society survey (B); Beijing highest 5.53, Tibet lowest 0.82 Level B https://bird.ns.org.cn/html/report/26090004-1.htm

Sources

What we cannot tell you

  1. The incidence figures are for 2022 and were published by the National Cancer Center in 2024. They are not "the latest 2026 data".
  2. China does not publish national surgical volume by cancer type. Hospital-level figures are self-reported and we do not present them as national data.
  3. The combined figure for the ten cancers is our own sum of the per-cancer figures — it is not an official total.
  4. Radiotherapy equipment counts come from an industry-society survey (level B), not from a government release.
  5. National surgical volume by cancer type — China publishes no national per-cancer surgical volume. The health statistics yearbook reports total inpatient operations by hospital tier, not by cancer. Hospital-level figures are self-reported.
  6. Transplant counts split by organ — The annual report is not openly downloadable and does not publish per-organ counts in the public summary. Liver-transplant counts must never be used as a proxy for liver-cancer surgery.
  7. National radiotherapy treatment fractions — No official or credible public count of radiotherapy fractions (by cancer or in total).
  8. CAR-T patients treated — No official figure; third-party counts of approved products conflict (4 / 6 / 7) and are not cited anywhere on this site.