Lung cancer has claimed the title of most deadly cancer in the Chinese capital, sources with the Beijing Research Institute of Tumor Prevention and Control said on Monday.

Zhi Xiuyi , a professor with Capital Medical University, said Beijingers are increasingly familiar with lung cancer. One out of every four cancer sufferers in the city is a lung cancer patient.

With incidence of the disease on rise, the average age at which a patient contracts lung cancer goes down by 12 months every five years, Zhi added.

The youngest lung cancer sufferer diagnosed by the Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Center of Beijing's Xuanwu Hospital was only 21 years old.

According to 2005 data from the Beijing Research Institute of Tumor Prevention and Control, about 20,000 residents in the city contract cancer every year, with incidence of the disease reaching 179 out of 100,000 people.

Experts believe environmental pollution, smoking, passive smoking, and fumes from hot cooking oil are all factors in the high occurrence of lung cancer.

Research results show people in industrialized areas are more prone to lung cancer than those in under-developed areas. Incidence of the disease is also higher in urban areas than in rural areas, particularly in big cities.

(Xinhua News Agency November 13, 2006)