Breast cancer now second most common form of disease in Hong Kong

Lung cancer remained the most prevalent type with 5,707 new cases recorded in 2022 while colorectal cancer was third

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About one in 30 Hong Kong residents is either living with cancer or has survived it in the past 20 years. Photo: Jelly Tse

Published: 7:29pm, 12 Nov 2024Updated: 8:09pm, 12 Nov 2024

Breast cancer has overtaken colorectal cancer as the second most common form of the disease in Hong Kong for the first time among new patients, according to the latest data.

Statistics for 2022 released on Tuesday showed 5,208 new breast cancer cases were recorded, including both women and men, narrowly surpassing colorectal cancer at 5,190.

Lung cancer remained the most prevalent type with 5,707 cases, Hong Kong Cancer Registry data showed.

Among men, lung cancer led with 3,340 new cases. It was followed by colorectal cancer with 2,928 cases and prostate cancer with 2,758.

Liver cancer and stomach cancer rounded out the top five among men with 1,173 and 720 cases respectively.

For women, breast cancer remained the most common type with 5,182 new cases recorded, followed by lung cancer with 2,367 and colorectal cancer with 2,262. Corpus uteri cancer and thyroid cancer completed the top five with 1,188 and 820 cases respectively.

Hong Kong recorded 35,373 new cancer cases in 2022, averaging 97 diagnoses a day. While the figure marked an 8 per cent decrease from 2021, officials attributed the drop to disrupted cancer screening during that year’s fifth wave of Covid-19 cases.