ObjectiveTo investigate epidemiology of cancer and to describe the prevention and control of cancer in Shanghai.

MethodsThe data were collected from the Shanghai Cancer Registry.Cancer incidence and mortality were analyzed, stratified by sex and region.Joinpoint software was used to illustrate the incidence and mortality trends during 1973-2015 in urban Shanghai.

ResultsThe reported incident cases and deaths of cancers were 71 610 and 38 445 in 2015 of Shanghai, respectively.The crude incidence in Shanghai Cancer Registry was 497.3/100 000 and the ASR was 228.8/100 000.The crude mortality was 267.0/100 000 and the ASR was 96.0/100 000.In total, the incidence of all the cancers in urban Shanghai decreased significantly (annual percent change, APC -0.22%) from 1973 through 2015 for males, whereas it increased significantly (APC 0.97%) for females.In the whole period, the mortality decreased significantly for both males (APC -1.42%) and females (APC -1.09%).The cancer spectrum for incidence and mortality changed substantially in the forty years.

ConclusionCancer registration data may provide evidence for strategy development and assessment for cancer prevention and control.In Shanghai, we have established the strategies and implemented the control and prevention, in which health education and health promotion was integrated, based on the cancer registration data.With the aging of the population and the changing trend of cancer spectrum, the number of incident cancer cases and the cancer survivors will continue to grow up.To achieve the middle- and long-term goals, it is important to inform the strategies according to the disease burden, related risk factors, and the development of appropriate technologies, and to improve the effective cancer prevention and control system in Shanghai.