Chinese medical researchers are calling on the Chinese government to seriously look into the rising incidence of cancer across the country.

A report called the 2013 Cancer Registry indicates that 3.08 million Chinese have developed cancer, with at least 1.96 million deaths attributed to cancer in 2010.

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The latest data on cancer incidence was gathered from 145 cancer monitoring centers in 24 provinces with a combined population of at least 159 million people.

Chen Wanqing, the director of the National Central Cancer Registry of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, called on the government to step in and introduce awareness campaigns to control the rise of cancer cases in the country.

Based on a World Health Organization cancer report released in February, developing countries in Asia, South America and Africa are most vulnerable to cancer.

Nearly 20 percent of new cases all over the world in 2012 were recorded in China. Twenty seven percent of total world death was in China or an estimated 8.2 million people.

According to 2010 estimates, 235 people out of 100,000 male urbanites in China are susceptible to cancer, compared to women and those in rural areas.

Of the global death figures in 2010, nearly 149 of 100,000 are Chinese but the figure is considered low compared to deaths in Uruguay, Serbia, Mongolia and Hungary.

WHO reports that incidence of cancer is higher in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, and Norway.

Citizens of China usually suffer from breast, gastric, lung, liver, colorectal, esophageal, and cervical cancer, with lung cancer killing 490,000 Chinese in 2010.

Shi Yuankai, the vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Cancer Hospital, blames smoking, pollution, obesity, unhealthy diet and a sedentary lifestyle as causes of cancer in the country.

Shi adds that the rise in lung cancer incidence can not be immediately blamed on the air pollution affecting China.

The incidence of cancer in China is on the rise among those aged 40 or older and plateaus with citizens in their 80s.

Chen said the decline in cancer cases in the United States and Europe is mainly due to cancer research and state funding on enhanced treatments and screening.